Manchester bomber Salman Abedi 'asked mother for forgiveness hours before attack'

Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide bomber, reportedly phoned his mother hours before the attack and asked for forgiveness.  

Samia Tabbal, 50, is among Abedi's relatives in Tripoli who have been questioned by Libyan authorities in the wake of Monday's attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.  

A Libyan anti-terror official said the 22-year-old phoned his mother and said "forgive me".

"He was giving farewell," Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said of the phone call.

Samia Tabbal was said to have told authorities her son left the North African country bound for the UK four days before detonating his device at Manchester Arena. The blast killed 22 people, including seven children.

All 22 victims of the Manchester suicide bomb attack named, in pictures

Her account came after Abedi's father Ramadan and teenage brother Hashim were arrested on Wednesday.

Hashim allegedly claimed his older brother learnt to build bombs from the internet, hoping to "seek victory for the Islamic State", Mr Bin Salem said.

The 18-year-old also claimed he knew his older brother was planning to carry out an attack.

Abedi's parents are Libyan-born refugees who fled to the UK to escape Gaddafi. It is thought they returned in 2011 following Gaddafi’s overthrow.

Key articles | Manchester Arena explosion

His sister, Jamona, has claimed her brother launched his suicide attack out of "a love of Islam" and in revenge for US airstrikes on Syria.

Miss Abedi, who lives in the Libyan capital Tripoli, said her brother had become increasingly violent over the course of the past year, convinced that Muslims were under attack both in the UK and abroad.

There are fears he may have built a second device which is now in the hands of fellow jihadists.