The Manchester bomber who killed 22 people and injured 50 others during an Ariana Grande concert in the UK on the 22nd of May 2017, was able to enter Libya with the help of the same ISIS branch that trained the Brussels and Paris attacker. The information was reported on Tuesday by Belgian media based on an article published on the New York Times. On Saturday, the American media platform indicated that Salman Abedi, the terrorist who killed himself in the Manchester Arena, met in Libya members of an Islamic State unit who are believed to be connected to the Paris attack that targeted Bataclan in Paris in 2015. Once in Libya, Abedi joined members of the Katibat Al Battar unit. The same group has hosted several Belgian and French terrorists such as the Moroccan–Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the jihadist behind Paris and Brussels' attack, as pointed out by the New York Times. «The contacts between Mr. Abedi and Battar members occurred when he went to Libya, especially in Tripoli and Sabratha, according to a retired European intelligence chief, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the case. The former official added that Mr. Abedi kept up contact with the group after returning to Manchester, his hometown», the same source states. When he returned to the UK, Salman Abedi while in touch with an individual in Belgium believed to be close to Abaaoud, the terrorist planned for the bombing attack targeting Manchester arena.
