A man armed with an “improvised” bomb has killed at least 22 people and injured 59 outside a concert arena filled with teenagers in central Manchester on Monday night, in the worst terrorism incident in the UK since 2005.
Police said the bomber, who died in the explosion, detonated the device shortly after the end of a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande at about 10.30pm. The incident adds the northern English city to the growing list of recent western targets that includes London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin.
Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said children were among the dead and authorities were still attempting to determine whether the attacker “was acting alone or was part of a network”.
British political leaders, who were in the middle of a general election race, halted all campaigning. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday morning that security services believed they knew the identity of the bomber.
Mrs May said Manchester had fallen victim to a “callous terrorist attack”, which was “among the worst terrorism we have experienced in the United Kingdom”.
