UK | Terrorism: Three more arrests in Manchester; London tourist sites protected

British police and intelligence agencies arrested three more suspects yesterday in connection with the Manchester suicide bombing and moved quickly to secure key sites across the country, including Buckingham Palace and the British Parliament at Westminster.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the bomber, identified as British-born Libyan Salman Abedi, “likely” did not act alone when he killed 22 people and wounded dozens at an Ariana Grande concert Monday night in Manchester. She said he had been known to security forces “up to a point.”

Officials are examining Abedi’s trips to Libya as they piece together his allegiances and try to foil any new potential threats.

Police said three men were arrested yesterday in south Manchester, where a day earlier a 23-year-old man was also arrested and a number of homes were searched.

Britain raised its threat level from terrorism to “critical” after an emergency government meeting late Tuesday amid concerns that the 22-year-old Abedi may have accomplices who are planning another attack. British soldiers have been deployed in place of police officers to guard high-profile sites such as Buckingham Palace and Parliament.

The changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace was canceled yesterday so police officers can be re-deployed, Britain’s defense ministry said. The traditional ceremony is a major tourist attraction in London.

The Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament in London, was also closed yesterday to all those without passes, and tours and events there were cancelled until further notice. Armed police were also seen on patrol outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, another popular tourist spot.

Officials said 984 soldiers were deployed in London and in other locations.

Suicide bomber Abedi was born in Britain to a Libyan family, grew up in Manchester’s southern suburbs and attended local Salford University for a time.

Police on Tuesday raided his house, using a controlled explosion to blast down the door. Neighbors recalled him as a tall, thin young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress and did not talk much.

British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting yesterday of her emergency security cabinet group to talk about intelligence reports on Abedi and concerns that he might have had outside support.

Police also raided and searched a property elsewhere in Manchester where Abedi’s brother Ismail is thought to have lived.

Officials are probing how often Abedi had traveled to Libya, which has seen an eruption of armed Islamist groups since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.

France’s interior minister said Abedi is believed to have traveled to Syria and had “proven” links with the Islamic State group.

Minister Gerard Collomb said on BFM television that British and French intelligence have information that Abedi had been to Syria. He did not elaborate but said it’s unclear whether Abedi was part of a larger network of attackers.

British officials have not commented on whether Abedi had links to IS or other extremist groups.

Rudd said Britain’s increased official threat level will remain at “critical” as the investigation proceeds and won’t be lowered until security services are convinced there is no active plot in place.

She also complained about U.S. officials leaking sensitive information about Abedi to the press. Rudd said Britain’s operational security could be harmed by the leaks, taking “the element of surprise” away from security services and police.

“I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again,” she said.

In addition to those killed in the concert attack, Manchester officials raised to 119 the number of people who sought medical treatment after the attack, including those who traveled to hospitals on their own.

Sixty-four people are still hospitalized, Jon Rouse of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said. Officials say 20 of them are being treated for critical injuries.

Many of those still hospitalized had serious wounds that will require “very long term care and support in terms of their recovery,” Rouse said. 

Soldiers were replacing armed police yesterday at sites like Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Parliament. London Police Commander Jane Connors said the goal is to “make our city as hostile an environment as possible for terrorists to plan and operate.”

She said armed police patrols had been increased and will be ready to respond quickly to any incidents.

Collomb, who spoke with May after the attack, said the two countries should continue cooperating closely on counterterrorism efforts despite Britain’s pending exit from the 28-nation European Union. Jill Lawless & Gregory Katz, Manchester, AP

Macau tourism crisis issues travel alert

Given the recent security situation in the United Kingdom, the Macau Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) has issued Level 1 Travel Alert. The GGCT issued a statement alerting residents who intend to travel to or those already in the United Kingdom to be aware and follow closely the development of the situation that might affect their personal safety there.

Victim names not released yet, most were identified at hospitals

Undated photo of Saffie Roussos, 8, the youngest victim of the terror attack

The names of the 22 victims killed by a suicide bomber at a Manchester concert on Monday night have not been officially released, but here what’s known about them so far:

Teenager Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who went to a school near Manchester, was at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester with a friend.

Tottington High School in the town of Bury said the school community was “absolutely devastated and heartbroken” at the news yesterday that Olivia was killed in the blast.

The school said Olivia, reportedly 15, had been with a friend who has since undergone surgery to treat injuries sustained in the explosion.

Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, who had been appealing online for news of Olivia, wrote in Facebook post yesterday: “RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far too soon, go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.”

A Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters from the concert in Manchester are among the dead, Poland’s foreign minister said yesterday.

Witold Waszczykowski said the daughters — one a minor, one adult— were unharmed. He did not give the couple’s names but the daughter of Marcin and Angelika Klis has been publicly searching for her parents since the explosion.

A Facebook page “Remembering Marcin Klis” says he lived in the northern English city of York, worked for the York cars Taxi Service and came from the Polish town of Darlowo on the Baltic Sea.

In his latest entry from March 21, he shared a link from a protest in York against Uber car services. Entries from 2015 show him vacationing with family in Egypt.

Waszczykowski said another Polish citizen was wounded in the attack and had undergone surgery but “everything indicates that he will live.”

Saffie Roussos, 8, is the youngest victim identified so far.

In a statement, the head teacher of the Tarleton Community Primary School that she attended in the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, described her as “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”

The head teacher, Chris Upton, said her death was “a tremendous shock to all of us.”

“The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking,” he said.

The schoolgirl had been at the concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos, and sister, Ashlee Bromwich, in her 20s, from Leyland, Lancashire. They are both now in separate hospitals being treated for injuries, friends said.

Georgina Callander, a student, was a mega fan of Ariana Grande, with a picture of the two circulating on social media as her name emerged as the first confirmed victim.

Peter Rawlinson, deputy of the Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy in Croston, northwest of Manchester, where Callander was a former pupil, told The Associated Press that her family had confirmed the death.

Rawlinson says Callander “was academically a very gifted student, very hard-
working. Just lovely to speak to.”

The school posted a photo of Georgina on its website, smiling and look smart in her school uniform. It said she died of wounds from the attack and described her as “a lovely young student who was very popular with her peers and the staff.”

Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire said Callander expressed “enormous sadness” at her death, saying she was on the second year of her health and social care course. AP