London police say investigation into Manchester blast ‘fast-moving’

Police have arrested two more people and are searching a new site in Manchester suspected of links to the bombing that killed 22 people at a pop concert. (Photo: www.tecmark.co.uk)

MOSCOW—An investigation into the deadly blast that rocked London’s Manchester-Arena on Monday evening is ” fast moving and making good progress,” said Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing.

“There has been an arrest and there are currently multiple searches and other activity taking place,” he said. “However, at this stage it is still not possible to be certain if there was a wider group involved in the attack; 24 hours in we have a number of investigative leads that we are pursuing to manage the ongoing threat.”

He said that this concern was behind the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Center’s decision to raise the terrorism threat level to “critical” on Tuesday evening, meaning that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but a further attack may be imminent.

In line with the decision to raise the terrorism threat level, police presence will be increased at key sites, such as transport and other crowded places. The military will be deployed alongside the police to ensure safety.

An explosion rocked an indoor arena in the English city of Manchester at 22:35 local time (21:35 GMT) on Monday, right after a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. The blast claimed the lives of 22 people and left 58 wounded.