Islamic State supporters celebrate Manchester attack online
Islamic
State supporters celebrated on social media on Tuesday after a blast at
a concert venue in the north of England killed at least 19 people,
although the militant Islamist group has not formally claimed
responsibility. British police have said they are treating the blast at
the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana
Grande as a “terrorist incident”. More than 50 people were wounded.
Twitter accounts affiliated to Islamic State have used hashtags
referring to the blast to post celebratory messages, with some users
encouraging similar attacks elsewhere. Some messages described the
attack as an act of revenge in response to air strikes in Iraq and
Syria. READ MORE
ON EDGE: 3,500 Potential Terrorists & 400 ISIS fighters Back from Syria in UK
About 400 ISIS-trained fighters are believed to have returned from war zones in Syria and Iraq. Despite being on red alert for more attacks on home soil like last night’s Manchester bombing, new statistics show the number of arrests, stop and searches, and examinations of suspected terrorists at ports and airports dropped in 2016 on the levels seen in 2015. FULL REPORT
DEVELOPING: 20+ Dead At Grande Gig Explosion in England
was no immediate information on what kind of explosions occurred, and the sources stressed that the information was preliminary and subject to change. Greater Manchester Police said only that there were “a number of confirmed fatalities and injuries” as hundreds of fans fled the arena. Emergency crews rushed to the scene after the possible blasts, which were first reported about 10:40 p.m. (5:40 p.m. ET). New York City counterterrorism police said they were monitoring developments. READ MORE