Lone wolf or complex plot? Analysing the Manchester bombing

DETAILS of the Manchester Arena bombing are slowly emerging. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. The police have confirmed that the murderous act last night was carried out by a single suicide-bomber who detonated an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel in a crowded foyer. Theresa May, the prime minister, has said that police believe they know the identity of the attacker, who died in the explosion. Separately, a 23-year-old man has been arrested in a Manchester suburb in connection with the crime. Wrenching photos of the first young victims and missing concert-goers have been posted online.

The rest, so far, is speculation. The selection of a pop concert as the target for the attack has echoes of the Bataclan massacre in Paris in November 2015. It has become standard operating practice for both Islamic State and al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists to try to hit large venues hosting events that symbolise what they regard as Western cultural decadence....Continue reading