Manchester bombing investigators hunting network of terrorists swoop on suspect with ‘suspicious package’ in Wigan just hours after dramatic machine gun raid as number arrested reaches seven

COPS were in a desperate race against time to find the bomb gang behind the Manchester Arena massacre — before more families are destroyed.

Security chiefs believe the deadly device detonated by Salman Abedi was built by other ISIS fanatics in a city centre flat.

Undercover officers swooped on a suspect with a "suspicious package" in Wigan as the number of arrests made over the attack reached seven.

The arrest came just hours after officers armed with machine guns and wearing gas masks raided a flat in Manchester city centre.

This evening armed cops raided a block of flats in Blackley, Greater Manchester, and arrested a woman in connection with the bombing. Later they made their seventh arrest, a man in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

The swoops came after three men were arrested just streets away from where Manchester nail bomb terrorist Salman Abedi lived as Theresa May raised the UK threat level to “critical” for the first time in 10 years.

Police are now assessing the package being carried by the suspect arrested in Wigan with bomb squads reportedly called in.

Abedi, who US officials said was identified by a bank card found among his remains, detonated a nail bomb on Monday night killing 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert, with many of his victims being youngsters.

He is thought to have been a "mule" using a device built by someone else, the BBC reports.

A police source told the Manchester Evening News: "They don't waste bomb makers. The reason we have gone to critical is because he is still out there and the fear is that he will strike again before they get caught."

Police chiefs have said they are investigating the possibility of "a network" linked to the bomber, admitting there are gaps in their knowledge.

Today the dad of Abedi, who claims his son is innocent, was arrested in Libya.

The younger brother of the bomber, Hashem Abedi, has also been arrested in Tripoli along with his older brother in the UK yesterday.

The father told the Associated Press from Tripoli: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

Armed police and men clad in balaclavas also stormed the Granby House building on Granby Row, in central Manchester today.

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins confirmed a controlled explosion had taken place at the address and that a nearby railway was briefly closed during the raid.

A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: "Officers have this afternoon carried out a search at an address in Manchester City Centre as part of the investigation into the horrific incident at Manchester Arena.

"That search is ongoing.

"In order to do this safely we briefly closed a railway line, but it has now been reopened."

The Home Secretary Amber Rudd this morning said it's "likely" Abedi "was not doing this on his own" as police arrested three more men in South Manchester in connection with the incident.

A Libyan family, a father, his wife and their two sons, aged in their late teens or early 20s, were taken away by armed police who raided a property on Aston Avenue, Fallowfield, at around 2.30am on Wednesday, neighbours said.

The house is less than a mile from the former home of Abedi.

The BBC has since revealed that two people who knew Salman Abedi had made separate calls to authorities with concerns about the man’s views, including that being a suicide bomber was “OK”.

The Sun revealed the killer is suspected of receiving terror training in Syria, where he may have visited secretly while seeing family in Libya.

Today French interior minister Gerard Collomb has said the Manchester bomber is believed to have travelled to Syria and had "proven" links with the Islamic State terror group.

Mr Collomb said: "He was a British national of Libyan origin, he grew up in Great Britain.

"All of a sudden he travelled to Libya and then most likely to Syria, became radicalised and decided to commit this attack."

The monster – who was killed when he detonated a bomb at Ariana Grande’s gig on Monday night that killed concert-goers as young as eight – was born and grew up in Britain.

Abedi’s family originally hail from Libya and he is thought to have visited the North African country - also a haven for ISIS fighters - regularly in recent years.

Sources said there were fears Abedi may have taken advantage of the conflict to make the simple journey across the Med to Syria without alerting the British authorities.

One revealed: “His potential ties to Syria now very much forms one line of inquiry.”

Eight-year-old schoolgirl Saffie Roussos was named as one of the victims along with student Georgina Callander, 26-year-old John Atkinson and brave aunt Kelly Brewster, 32, who shielded her niece from the deadly blast.

Mums Alison Howe, 44, and Lisa Lees, 43, were also killed while waiting for their kids to leave the show and teenager Olivia Campbell who sparked an emotional TV appeal have also been listed among the dead.

Also confirmed dead are Angelika and Marcin Klis, a Polish couple whose daughter launched a desperate appeal to find them yesterday.

Friends of  “iconic” Martyn Hett, 29, and young farmer Nell Jones, who is believed to have been on crutches at the time, confirmed both were killed.

Police today said they were "confident" they know the identity of all the people who died. They also confirmed an off-duty police officer died in the attack.