A EXPERT on global security has said the blast in the Manchester Arena had all the hallmarks of a terrorists attack.
Professor Peter Jackson, Chair of Global Security at Glasgow University, said that he expected the police investigation to move very swiftly.
He said: “I have been keeping abreast of the news, but at this stage we know very little. But it’s clearly a terrorist attack – there were reports of people seeing washers, nails and shrapnel on the ground.
“There’s no indication that the bomber was working for ISIS, but they will take credit for it, because they always do. It might be that the person behind this was inspired by ISIS, or had some connection to them. That will come out in the coming days.
“There are foreign fighters who have returned from Syria and Iraq, but they are very closely watched by the security services.”
He added that concerts made a particularly tempting target because of the numbers of people crammed into a relatively small space.
Prof Jackson said: “Any large gathering of people is a target for this type of attack. There are reports that the blast happened at one of the entrances - there is a man saying he was caught up in it while he waited for his wife and daughter - so it could be that the person could not get into the main arena and wasn’t in the crowd. I expect that to become clear in the coming days.
“The idea that you can be completely safe from this type of attack is false. But people just have to go on with their daily lives.”
The terrorism expert said that the next step for the security services will be to identify the bomber and find out if they had a support network in the UK, or if they were acting alone.
He said: “Expect the police to be watching a lot of videos from inside the arena in the coming hours. They will be studying CCTV to identify people in the crowd carrying a bag capable of holding explosives and shrapnel.
“The important thing will be to get a look at their face and work towards identification. If they can get an identity for the person then they can widen the investigation out to look at their friends and family and their movements prior to the bombing. I expect that to take around a day."
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