POLICE IN MANCHESTER have released a new CCTV image of the Manchester Arena bomber carrying a suitcase, one week after 22 people died at a pop concert.
The picture shows Salman Abedi carrying a blue suitcase in Manchester city centre on the day it happened.
Officers are particularly interested in where he was in the four days leading up to the attack.
Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit said, “We continue to track the final movements of Salman Abedi and are particularly interested in his whereabouts between 18 and 22 May 2017.
“Today, we are releasing an image of carrying a distinctive blue suitcase and an image of a replica of the case. We know he visited the Wilmslow Road area of Manchester and was also seen in Manchester city centre with the blue suitcase.
Did you see Abedi with this suitcase between the 18 and 22 May 2017? Where did you see him with it during that time? You may have seen him in the Wilmslow Road area or Manchester city centre with the suitcase or know where the suitcase has been. If you have any details about the suitcase we need you to get in touch and let us know.
Britain’s MI5 intelligence service has launched an internal probe into whether vital clues were missed ahead of the Manchester attack.
So far 14 people have been arrested in relation to the police investigation into the attack that claimed 22 lives.
Police believe Abedi was in possession of this case in the days before the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May.
Jackson added, “I want to stress that this is a different item than the one he used in the attack. This image was taken from CCTV in the city centre on 22 May.
We have no reason to believe the case and its contents contain anything dangerous, but would ask people to be cautious.
“Anybody with information about the whereabouts of the case between 18 and 22 May should call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline in confidence on 0800 789 321.
“The public should not approach the case if they see it but contact police immediately on 999.”
Manchester City Council has called a vigil in the centre of the northwest England city for 22.31pm – the exact moment that Abedi detonated his bomb outside a pop concert by teen idol Ariana Grande in one of Europe’s biggest indoor arenas.
The names of the victims, including six under the age of 18, were read out in front of the city’s town hall earlier on Monday before hundreds of people at a multi-faith religious ceremony.
A nearby square was packed with floral tributes and heart-shaped balloons, as well as runners’ bibs left by participants in a half-marathon on Sunday.
“You tried to destroy us but you’ve brought us closer together,” read one message of defiance.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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