(Tripoli) Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesperson for Libyan counter-terrorism force RADA, has announced that the father and younger brother of Salman Abedi, the terrorist behind the Manchester suicide bombing, have been arrested in Tripoli. Salman Abedi’s younger brother was detained Tuesday evening; Abu Ismael Abedi, Salman’s father, was arrested outside of his home in the suburb of Ayn Zara. A witness reported that Abu was handcuffed by armed men who took him away in unmarked vehicles.
Authorities have not released why Abedi’s father has been arrested. In a post on their official Facebook page, RADA stated that Hashem had been arrested for planning to carry out an ISIS terror attack in Tripoli. According to the post, Hashem stated he was a member of ISIS and that he was in constant contact with his brother Salman. According to RADA, he admitted to being in Britain during the preparation period for the Manchester attack and was “well aware” of the details of this terrorist operation. Bin Salem stated that “We have evidence he is involved in Daesh (ISIS) with his brother. We have been following him for more than one and a half months. He was in contact with his brother and knew about the attack.”
In statements given to the Associated Press prior to being arrested, Abu claimed his son was innocent and that “We don’t believe in killing innocents. This is not us.” Mr. Abedi told Bloomberg News that his son the suicide bomber was “As religious as any child who opens his eyes in a religious family…we were discussing news of similar attacks earlier, he was always against those attacks, saying there’s no religious justification for them. I don’t understand how he’d have become involved in an attack that led to the killing of children.”
Members of the mosque the Abedi’s attended in Manchester insisted that Abu had been vocally anti-jihad, but Libyan officials stated that Mr. Abedi was a known member of an al-Qaeda affiliated terror organization in the 90s. What is known is that Abedi and his wife fled to the UK as refugees after the Libyan government issued a warrant for his arrest during this timeframe. Abedi was currently in Tripoli as an administrative manager for the Central Security Force. Furthermore, it is starting to appear that Mr. Abedi was not out of touch with the reality of his son’s views, but is perhaps being dishonest.
A Muslim community worker has stated to the media that members of the Manchester Islamic community had called the police anti-terrorism hotline to warn about Salman Abedi’s “extreme and violent views” several years ago. Manchester law enforcement officials have confirmed that Salman was a known entity before the attack at the Ariana Grande concert.
