Father of Manchester bomb suspect ‘was in militant group’

The father of suspected Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was once part of a Libyan militant group with alleged ties to al-Qaeda, a Libyan security source says.

Abedi’s father Ramadan “was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG),” says Ahmed bin Salem, spokesman for Libya’s Deterrence Force, which acts as the police for Libya’s unity government.

The Tripoli-based force arrested Abedi’s father and brother after Monday’s attack at a pop concert which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Ramadan Abedi was hunted by the regime of Muammar Gadhafi for his ties to the group, finding refuge in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the NATO-backed uprising that finally overthrew the dictator, British media reported.

— AFP