Manchester bomber had been planning the attack since December – and had been watched by Tripoli authorities weeks before blast that killed 22
THE man responsible for the Manchester terror bombing had been under surveillance in Tripoli a month before the attack, it has been claimed.
Salman Abedi, who had reportedly been planning the suicide bombing since last December, was on the radar of Libyan authorities weeks before the attack - but it is unknown if any information was passed onto UK security forces.
The BBC made the latest revelations as new CCTV of Abedi stalking through Manchester city was released yesterday.
In the images, Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people when he detonated a bomb outside an Ariana Grande concert, can be seen wheeling the suspect bags down the street in the days before the suicide bombing.
Police say they now have an hour-by-hour timeline of the man's movements in the days before the fatal attack, but are still appealing for information about the man's plot, particularly about a white Nissan Micra used to store materials for the nail bomb.
Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, Head of North West Counter Terrorism Policing said that Abedi had seemed "intent" on committing the attack as soon as possible after returning from Libya in April.
He said: "CCTV has shown him purchasing more items for the bomb soon after he arrived back. We have tracked him buying nuts from a DIY store that were used for shrapnel as well as the tin which we believe the explosive was placed in."
Labelling the attack "premeditated, calculated and vicious", he said police had been searching a white Micra believed to have been used by the terrorist to store materials for the bomb.
He said: "Our enquiries show that the assembly of the device is likely to have been by Abedi himself."
"What is less clear is whether he acted alone in obtaining the materials for the device before he left the country on 15 April and whether others knew or were complicit in the storage of materials knowing what was being planned.
"Understanding this is crucial to our work in the coming weeks and months."
All 22 people arrested as part of the ongoing investigation have been released.
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Police have now said they hope to interview the man's brother, who was arrested in Libya in the wake of the bombing that targeted the Ariana Grande concert.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jackson said: "Hashem Abedi, the brother of Salman Abedi, left the country at the same time as the attack on the 15th April.
"Hashem Abedi is currently detained in Libya, there is much media reporting about what he has said in Libya and we wish to interview him in relation to this attack."
Police have appealed for anyone who might have seen anyone near the white Micra to come forward, as well as any barrels found in the car at Devall Hall after April 13.
Police said: "The search at the landfill site for the blue suitcase is also continuing and we expect it to go on for some time.
"We believe the blue suitcase contains items Abedi discarded after having assembled the device and it could contain crucial evidence.";
INSIDE THE INVESTIGATION
Greater Manchester Police have said the invsetigation into the Arena bombing is one of the largest probes they have ever conducted.
So just what has been involved?
- More than 1,000 officers involved
- 29 house searches
- Hundreds of hours of CCTV examined
- More than 20 people detained
- 700 media devices, including phones, seized
- More than 8,000 entries on logging system
Detective Chief Superintendent Jackson has vowed police won't stop until they find answers to the horrific attack, saying: "This was a premeditated, calculated and vicious attack.
"It was planned carefully and has caused devastation and heartbreak to so many. We have a massive team still working flat out on it and there are critical lines of enquiry at home and abroad which we will relentlessly pursue."
Investigations are continuing.