Manchester terror attack bomber Salman Abedi ‘handed a deadly component for his device’ at a German airport
Security officials are checking CCTV for possible contact between the 22-year-old and terror suspects in Germany
SUICIDE bomber Salman Abedi may have been given a crucial component for his device at a German airport en route to his terror mission.
Security officials are checking CCTV for possible contact between the 22-year-old and terror suspects in Dusseldorf.
A small component could have been passed as he mingled with passengers, sources said. He could also have been given instructions by an ISIS handler.
German anti-terror cops are using facial recognition software to match anyone close to him.
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A state prosecutor said: “It’s possible he was given the explosives after returning from Libya with a terrorist contract.”
A source added: “It was a highly sophisticated bomb and there’s no way Abedi could’ve built it or smuggled the components to Manchester alone.”
He remained “airside” at both transit airports - but police in Germany were last night examining footage for any sign of a clandestine meeting.
Anti-terror cops in Germany and the UK were last night trying to establish why he stopped off in Dusseldorf on his way to Manchester.
A small bomb component, detonator, electronic circuitry or a switch could have been passed from hand-to-hand in an instant as he mingled with passengers, sources said.
Abedi could have alternatively been given verbal last instructions from an Islamic State mission controller during a brief meeting.
He was not on any terrorist watchlist so was not flagged up by security at any stage of his three-flight journey, which began in Tripoli on May 17.
The flight records and passport information of all passengers passing through the transit area during a crucial window of several hours were also being checked.
Other reports have suggested Abedi spent time in Prague in the days before the attack.