Manchester Arena blast

The Manchester blast that took place on the 22^nd of May 2017 has killed 22 and injured 59 people, as per reports on the 23^rd of May 2017. The blast took place at Manchester Arena shortly after Ariana Grande’s concert ended, around 10:30 pm.

The Cobra Meeting

Prime Minister Teresa May has called for an emergency Cobra Meeting to discuss about the Manchester attack. Cobra stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms and aims at providing rapid decision making during a terrorist attack. The meeting is conducted with government ministers and other required agencies.

Analysis

This is the second terrorist attack on London this year, the first being in March where the attacker drove a car along a pavement, killing three and injuring 40 people in Westminster. Post the Manchester attack, political parties have suspended their campaigns for the upcoming elections. The wounded are being treated in eight hospitals across Greater Manchester. The police have cordoned off the area around which the incident took place. The police have arrested seven people so far, as per reports on the 25^th of May 2017.

The attacker is identified as Salman Abedi, whose whereabouts are not yet confirmed. Salman Abedi’s father, Ramadan and his two brothers have been detained by the police. Salman’s father was a member of Al-Qaeda backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s. His younger brother Hashem had confirmed that he and his brother, both were a part of the IS group and he knew about Salman’s whereabouts.

Assessment

The explosion took place in the arena’s foyer which is a major hub of the city. It is the city’s largest indoor venue with a capacity of 21,000. Thus, the target of the attacker was much more than the previous attack in March. It has definitely instilled fear in the civilians as they have been targeted again in less than two months’ time.

ISIL has taken responsibility for the explosion, claiming that the people at the concert were crusaders in the British city of Manchester. The threat level from international terrorism has been increased from severe to critical in UK, as another attack is expected imminently. Supporters of ISIL have been celebrating this bombing on social media, and are likely to stage more attacks in Europe. The government should increase security measures at crowded places as a precaution against future attacks. Detailed investigation with the detained family members can help the police track the reason for the attack and also Salman’s future actions which may have a negative implication on the country.