UK bomber has been trained abroad, al Qaeda has links: official

Manchester, May 24: The British man believed that 22 people were killed in suicide-bomb attacks and had links with al-Qaeda, and terrorized abroad. At the end of the American pop star Arena Grayded concert held in Manchester Arena on Monday, Salman Abeed (22) organized an IED blast which reportedly inspired the UK to raise its horrific level to the highest level on Tuesday, according to NBC News.

The US intelligence official, who has direct knowledge of the investigation, said Abedi, whose family is of Libyan descent, was identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene of the explosion. The identification was confirmed by facial recognition technology, NBC news quoted the official. Abedi had travelled to Libya within the last 12 months, one of multiple countries he had visited, the official added. And while he had "clear ties to Al Qaeda," the official said, he could have also had connections to other groups.

Members of his own family had even informed on him in the past, telling British authorities that he was dangerous, according to the intelligence official. The US official said Abedi's bomb was "big and sophisticated," using materials hard to obtain in Britain - meaning "it's almost impossible to see he didn't have help" while targeting the 20,000 strong crowd, the NBC report said. The official further added that investigators were concerned that Abedi could have been part of a terror cell, "the extent and allegiances of which remain unclear". A "follow-on" attack is possible, the official said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May echoed the warning in raising the country's threat level from "severe" to "critical," saying Tuesday that "a further attack may be imminent." Under the order, armed military personnel replaced police guarding "key sights" and events like concerts and sports matches. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he wanted to see armed officers and military personnel on the streets."They are helping us to secure our security services and save key sites," he said. The Manchester attack came two months after the invasion of Westminster.