Inquest Opens Into Manchester Arena Suicide Bomber's Death

Inquest Opens Into Manchester Arena Suicide Bomber's Death
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An inquest into the death of Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi has been opened and adjourned.

Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 200 others when he detonated a device in the main foyer of the venue as people left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday May 22.

No members of the family of the mass murderer, born in Manchester and of Libyan descent, were present or represented during the brief five-minute hearing at Manchester Town Hall.

The court heard that the force of the explosion "severely disrupted" the body of the 22-year-old attacker, who died at the scene.

Giving evidence, Detective Chief Inspector David Warren, of Greater Manchester Police, said the body was recovered from the blast scene on May 23 and transferred to a mortuary outside Manchester.

A post-mortem examination was carried out which determined that he died of multiple injuries.

He was identified primarily by fingerprints, DNA and dental records.

A bank card in his name was also recovered from the scene.

Abedi's full name was Salman Ramadan Abedi, his date of birth was December 31 1994 and his next of kin was his brother Ismail, the court heard.

Senior coroner for Manchester Nigel Meadows adjourned proceedings until December 1 for a pre-inquest review hearing.

He indicated that it was "very likely" that the hearing would be further adjourned before a full inquest takes place.

Police arrested 22 people in connection with the bombing but all have been released without charge.

A total of 32 addresses were searched in the investigation carried out by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit.

Two of those addresses remain under police control.

Inquests into the victims' deaths were opened last Friday and adjourned until November 24.

That hearing was told an improvised explosive device was contained in a rucksack that Abedi, of Elsmore Road, Fallowfield, was carrying on his back and was packed with a massive number of small metal objects.

When detonated they flew through the air at high velocity in all directions and appeared designed to kill and maim indiscriminately the largest number of innocent people.

Abedi's brother Hashim and father Ramadan have been detained in Libya.

Hashim reportedly told Libyan counter-terror forces he knew his brother was planning something and that his brother was radicalised while living in the UK two years before his deadly attack.

The bomber left the UK for Libya on April 15 and returned on May 18.

Police believe Abedi assembled the device by himself in the days before the attack but have said it is unclear whether he acted alone in obtaining materials for the bomb which officers believed were stored in a white Nissan Micra found parked in Rusholme.