Manchester Arena attack: Libyan terrorist, shy, devout and yet lethal

Reports state that Abeidi may have been radicalised in Tripoli.

The police have named Salman Ramadan Abeidi, a Mancunian of Libyan dissent as the terrorist who carried out the Manchester Arena attack in UK which killed 22 and injured 59 others.

The 22 year old was identified as the terrorist even as the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack. Like the Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood, Abeidi too was viewed as a peripheral figure. He was known to the security agencies, but was not considered as a high-risk.

The focus of the probe at the moment is to ascertain whether he worked alone or was part of a larger network. On the face of it, the attack looks like it was a lone wolf strike.
The naming of Abedi as the killer has taken the Libyan community in London by shock.

Many have wondered how this man who was always respectful of his elders turned into a mass killer. He was slightly withdrawn and a devout young man, members of the Libyan community told the media in UK.

Abeidi has been described as a quiet man and very religious. His father known as Abu Ismail is a popular man in the community. He was confrontational with the jihadi ideology being propagated these days.

Reports state that Abeidi may have been radicalised in Tripoli. Many believe that he may have not acted on his own and there must have been a driving force behind him. Many have said that while he was shy and kept to himself, off late he had been showing signs of hate. Some quote an incident at the Didsbury Mosque in which he had looked at people with a great deal of hate after they delivered sermons against the jihadi ideology of the ISIS.

While the Libyan community in Manchester have been vocal in their criticism of Abeidi, one must bear in mind that this community has had its fair share of troubles. Abdalraouf Abdallah, 24, was jailed for nine and a half years last year after being convicted of funding terrorism. He was accused of helping people travel to Syria on the pretext that they could fight the civil war. He himself would have wanted to travel, but could not do so as he was paralysed from the waist down after being shot during the Libyan revolution.

He was responsible for sending a former air force officer to Syria. Stephen Gray who quit the air force in 2004 had converted to Islam. It was Abdallah who was instrumental in sending him to Syria.

OneIndia News