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Manchester attack: Salman Abedi may have stored bomb parts in car

GMP Salman Abedi's carGMP
Pictures of Abedi's Nissan Micra have been released by Greater Manchester Police

Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi may have used items stored in his car "to help assemble the device" he used to kill, police have said.

The white Nissan Micra was seized from Devell House in Rusholme on Friday.

Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson said Abedi made "repeated trips" to and from the car between 18 and 22 May, the day of his attack.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a man at Heathrow Airport in London in connection with the Manchester bombing.

The 38-year-old was apprehended in what police described as a "planned" operation on suspicion of "offences contrary to the Terrorism Act".

Greater Manchester Police said "there was no direct threat to the airport".

GMP Abedi's holdallGMP
Police have asked people to try and remember if they saw Abedi with the holdall

Abedi's attack at Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert killed 22 people.

Greater Manchester Police have released images of the car and a holdall found inside in the hope it will help people recall Abedi's movements between 13 and 15 April, the day he left the UK for Libya, and 18 and 22 May.

"We need to know who was in the car and where the car went," Det Ch Supt Jackson said.

"We know Abedi bought some of the parts of the device after landing back in the UK and although his final acts on the night seem to have been alone, this doesn't mean that he did not have support in planning this attack.

"It is vital that we exhaust all our lines of inquiry to establish how this was planned and understand how others might have been involved."

He added forensic examiners had found "significant evidence" in the vehicle.

Police cordon near Banff Road
Abedi's car was seized during an operation which saw a 100m cordon established in Rusholme

Det Ch Supt Jackson said the investigation had made "significant progress".

"We have made more arrests and have corroborated the accounts of some people we have released."

However, he said police still wanted to hear from Abedi's "close associates" to help "build a picture of exactly what led to this atrocity".

Nineteen people, including the man held at Heathrow, have been arrested over the bombing - 12 have been released without charge.

A 33-year-old man was released earlier after being arrested in Wigan on 24 May, Greater Manchester Police said.

An 18-year-old man arrested on the same day in the Fallowfield area was also released on Tuesday.

Seven men remain in custody.