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Two more arrested in Manchester bomb investigation as UK prepares for holiday weekend

Police patrol  Manchester's streets as the hunt for clues and accomplices continues. Photo: EPA

Police patrol Manchester's streets as the hunt for clues and accomplices continues. Photo: EPA

Fresh arrests have been made in the Manchester bombing probe after police carried out a controlled explosion during a raid on an address in the Cheetham Hill area of the city.

Two men aged 20 and 22 were held on suspicion of terror offences after officers used an explosive device to gain entry to the property, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

The operation in the early hours of Saturday morning brings the number of suspects being held in custody to 11.

‘Large part of the network’ arrested

British police arrested the 11th person  — a 44-year-old Rusholme man — with the country’s top counter-terrorism officer saying a “large part of the network” behind the bombing was now in custody.

Two people, including one woman, have since been released without charge, police said, while 11 now remain in custody for questioning.

Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley said “immense” progress had been made in the investigation, but more arrests were likely.

“We are very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about but there’s still a little bit more to do,” he said.

The senior officer also issued a defiant message as he urged people to go about their business as normal over the bank holiday weekend.

“Enjoy yourselves and be reassured by the greater policing presence you will see,” he said. “We can’t let the terrorists win by dissuading us from going about our normal business.”

A huge security operation is planned with 1100 armed officers on hand to protect major spectacles around the country, including the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Great Manchester Run.

It was revealed that specialist teams have carried out a review of security for more than 1300 events with Britain remaining at the highest threat level of critical while the investigation into the bombing continues.

Twenty-two victims including several children were killed when Salman Abedi, 22, launched a suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Since Tuesday a total of 13 people have been arrested, with 11 men aged between 18 and 44 remaining in custody. Two of those held, a 16-year-old boy and a woman aged 34, have been released without charge.

Searches underway in 12 locations

On Friday evening officers were still carrying out searches at 12 locations, with activity expected to continue throughout the weekend.

Providing an update on the probe, Mr Rowley said it was likely further arrests would follow.

“We’ve got to try to understand everything we can about the dead terrorist, his associates. We need to understand the whole network and how they acquired and built the bomb that exploded on Monday night.

“It’s going to take a little more time to close down those gaps in our understanding. We are working as fast as we can do because everyone wants answers to this.”

“We need to grow our confidence that we have got every component of the network and we have got as full an understanding as possible about how the device was constructed and whether there’s any remaining risk.

“They’re very significant, these arrests. We’re very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about,” he said.

Since the attack, armed police backed up by the army have been patrolling cities and trains. Interior minister Amber Rudd said the official threat risk remained at its highest level, “critical”, meaning another attack is expected imminently.

— with PAA/ABC

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