Manchester bomber friend known to MI5, BBC reveals

A Muslim preacher who was adjacent to the Manchester bomber had been suspected by MI5 of being a radicaliser much than a decennary earlier, the BBC tin reveal.

A nationalist enquiry into the atrocity volition this week study connected however Salman Abedi was radicalised, and whether information services missed chances to halt him.

The preacher, Mansour Al-Anezi, had been investigated earlier different adjacent subordinate of his tried to transportation retired a termination bombing successful Exeter successful 2008.

Al-Anezi died earlier the arena attack.

Twenty 2 radical died successful the bombing. Secret hearings, which excluded victims' families, discussed grounds from MI5 astir Abedi and associates who were known to the information service.

A BBC probe has identified accusation that did not look successful the nationalist hearings - and mightiness not person appeared successful the closed sessions either.

Suicide bombings, some existent and attempted, are uncommon successful the UK. In the past 15 years, the lone 2 confirmed incidents were the Manchester and Exeter bombings.

An detonation successful a Liverpool taxi successful 2021, which killed the weaponry maker, has not been publically confirmed arsenic an intentional termination bombing.

The information that some Manchester and Exeter progressive associates of Al-Anezi could beryllium a coincidence. But the BBC has discovered that the authorities were investigating him arsenic a suspected radicaliser earlier the Exeter attack.

The serviceman who led the Manchester investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, told the arena enquiry that the narration betwixt Al-Anezi and Salman Abedi was "clearly a transportation of significance", but constabulary were incapable to found precisely what it was.

The enquiry besides heard Al-Anzei had been arrested successful transportation with the Exeter attack. But the nationalist hearings were not told helium was investigated by MI5 earlier that.

The preacher, who was not charged, regularly led prayers astatine a Plymouth mosque frequented by the bomber, a Muslim person called Nicky Reilly, past aged 22.

Reilly had learning difficulties and Asperger's Syndrome. His household considered him susceptible and influenced by radical helium met.

He was the lone 1 injured erstwhile a nail-bomb partially exploded successful the toilet of a engaged edifice arsenic helium was preparing to detonate 3 devices.

He died successful situation successful 2016.

Salman Abedi carried retired the Manchester Arena bombing connected the ninth day of the Exeter attack.

AI-Anezi, said to beryllium 43 and from Kuwait, came to the UK successful 2000. He initially stayed successful Manchester earlier moving to Plymouth.

Investigators successful Devon were warned by MI5 erstwhile Al-Anezi moved there. He was monitored astatine a Plymouth mosque wherever helium preached, and MI5 collected quality connected his activities.

Al-Anezi was adjacent to Reilly and came nether suspicion aft the Exeter incident. Detectives did not person grounds to complaint him, but helium was taxable to further investigation.

Simon Hall, a Cambridge lecturer who was antecedently a BBC analogous successful south-west England, recalls witnessing a surveillance cognition astir Al-Anezi successful the months aft the Exeter attack.

Hall says helium was asked not to attack Al-Anezi successful Plymouth 1 time by plain-clothed investigators who were waiting for him astatine the aforesaid location.

A study by Hall connected Al-Anezi was broadcast aft Reilly's conviction. It couldn't sanction the preacher for ineligible reasons.

Two sources who ran the mosque wherever Al-Anezi led prayers said aft Exeter onslaught helium was barred from preaching. He was told "no politics", 1 told the BBC.

During a aboriginal migration case, Al-Anezi accepted determination had been interest astir his opinions and that immoderate worshippers had complained.

Although helium kept a level successful Plymouth, Al-Anezi visited Manchester and astatine immoderate signifier came into interaction with Salman Abedi. He stayed astatine the Abedi household location successful the city. After the bombing, items belonging to Al-Anezi were recovered there.

He was besides successful telephone interaction with Hashem Abedi, who worked with his member Salman to program the attack.

Salman Abedi was astatine Al-Anezi's bedside erstwhile helium died successful a Plymouth infirmary successful January 2017. Another adjacent subordinate of his was besides contiguous and told the BBC that Abedi was successful tears

Salman and Hashem Abedi attended Al-Anezi's ceremonial successful Manchester. The pursuing day, they took a large measurement successful their weaponry crippled by buying chemic utilized to marque explosives.

Evidence gathered by the BBC suggests Al-Anezi utilized antithetic aliases, and that his existent sanction mightiness person been thing other entirely.

A 2009 asylum judgment, released to the BBC, reveals helium accepted arriving successful the UK connected a "fake passport" nether the sanction Nasar Al Ajmi, but helium claimed the papers was destroyed and helium could not callback the airdrome helium arrived at.

The authorities argued helium "wished to conceal information" and had "fabricated his assertion for asylum".

He had argued that helium was a Bedouin - a number successful Kuwait - and gave accounts of persecution. The justice astatine his entreaty accepted his accounts were credible.

The BBC, however, has recovered inconsistencies successful his story.

The entreaty judgement records Al-Anezi arsenic having stated that his parents were dead, and that "he had 1 member who was lost", having not returned from a buying travel successful Kuwait.

But Al-Anezi's ceremonial announcement astatine a Manchester mosque said helium near down parents and siblings successful Kuwait. The BBC has been told by 1 subordinate of his however Al-Anezi arranged for thousands of pounds to beryllium sent to a member overseas pursuing his death. The member is said to person revealed Al-Anezi was named Mohammed Idrisi and had Egyptian heritage.

The enquiry has besides examined different imaginable influences connected Salman Abedi, including during his clip astatine Didsbury Mosque successful Manchester.

The BBC has discovered 2 different young men who attended the mosque died successful struggle abroad. They were lionised arsenic martyrs online, earlier the Arena bombing.

One was concisely mentioned astatine the enquiry by a erstwhile Didsbury Imam, who has criticised those moving the mosque. He said extremists were capable to attend.

Mohamed El-Saeti, the erstwhile Imam, said 1 young attendee had "joined ISIS and al-Qaeda" successful Libya and died warring there.

The mosque has said it has ever made wide the "barbaric" arena bombing had thing to bash with the mosque, Islam, oregon the Quran, adding it was a "diversion from focusing connected the precise existent failings of those agencies with a work to support the nationalist and forestall specified attacks".

The BBC has seen online posts lionising the young antheral mentioned by Mr El-Saeti. Abdulla Fieturi's decease was referenced by friends of the Abedi brothers, including a erstwhile fishy successful the arena attack, different Manchester nonmigratory Zuhir Nassrat.

Nassrat called him a "shaeed" - martyr - and told a comparative "you should beryllium happy". In response, the comparative said helium was "proud" arsenic the lad "always wanted to dice shaheed".

Zuhir Nassrat is successful Libya but wanted by constabulary for his role successful a drugs conspiracy involving friends of the Abedi brothers.

The inquiry's nationalist hearings did not see different young antheral who died abroad, nor his begetter who knew Salman Abedi.

His father, Taher Nasuf, regularly attended Didsbury mosque. He was known to British authorities arsenic helium spent years sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged transportation to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was past banned successful Britain arsenic an al-Qaeda affiliate. He denied the allegations and was ne'er charged with immoderate offence. The idiosyncratic sanctions were yet lifted successful 2011. He did not respond to attempts by the BBC to marque contact.

He was portion of a ineligible governmental group, the Libyan 17 February Forum, which met astatine the mosque.

Salman Abedi attended 1 of its demonstrations successful London and was filmed smiling during a code by Mr Nasuf.

The BBC has been told Mr Nasuf's lad Reda, who attended Didsbury mosque, besides died successful struggle abroad. In online posts, helium was described arsenic a martyr, including by different Didsbury Imam, Mustafa Graf. A further representation shows him wearing subject covering and different alongside Abdalraouf Abdallah, who was aboriginal convicted of coercion offences for facilitating the question of fighters and wealth to Syria.

The enquiry has examined whether Abdallah had a radicalising power connected Salman Abedi.

Asked for absorption to each the BBC's evidence, a radical of 5 families bereaved by the Manchester onslaught told the BBC they are "disappointed to larn of yet much links to coercion successful Abedi's inheritance which bash not look to person been investigated".

The families are those of Kelly Brewster, 32, from Sheffield, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from Barra, Megan Hurley, 15, from Liverpool, and Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, some from South Shields.

"If determination is capable accusation successful the nationalist domain for the property to marque these links past we would person expected the authorities to bash the aforesaid and analyse fully," they said successful a connection to the BBC.

The families say: "We tin lone anticipation that this accusation was discussed successful the closed hearings of the nationalist inquiry."

They are captious of MI5 fixed however overmuch was known by the work astir the Abedi family.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "Our thoughts stay with those who were killed oregon had their lives changed everlastingly astatine the Manchester Arena attack."