Bomb-making instructions linked to Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have been removed from the internet. AFP
Bomb-making instructions linked to Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have been removed from the internet. AFP
Bomb-making instructions linked to Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have been removed from the internet. AFP
Bomb-making instructions linked to Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have been removed from the internet. AFP

Bomb and weapons instructions linked to Manchester Arena bomber removed from internet


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

Bomb and chemical weapons instructions linked to the Manchester Arena bomber have been removed from the internet.

The recent video had received more than 100 views.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 when he exploded a bomb at Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.

He and his brother Hashem had used the step-by step guide to learn how to build a shrapnel-packed bomb.

The 13-minute clip, which teaches viewers how to build an explosive device at home, was previously available on one site for two years, where it was viewed more than 17,700 times.

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) think tank has been conducting weekly investigations into the methods used by extremists to exploit the internet and social media platforms to recruit followers and incite violence.

Last week, CEP researchers found a copy of a notorious ISIS bomb-making video and guidance on the manufacture of chemical and biological weapons using commercially available products on the Internet Archive.

It is at least the sixth time the specific video, originally released in November 2016 and linked to Salman Abedi, has been found on the site.

The video also encourages acts of terrorism and shows the use of a knife against a human target, who is brutally executed in the process.

The video was uploaded on April 15, 2022, and was viewed at least 103 times when CEP found it.

The Internet Archive has now removed it following their report.

Separately, a white supremacist Telegram channel posted instructions on making homemade explosives.

Researchers also found content explaining how to manufacture homemade explosives, improvised explosive devices, and synthesising botulism toxin, cyanide, and other poisons.

The Abedi brothers used the video to build the bomb at a rented flat in Granby Row, central Manchester, in the months leading up to the attack.

MATCH INFO

Champions League last 16, first leg

Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)

Essentials

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.

The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.

 

T20 SQUADS

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: SimpliFi

Started: August 2021

Founder: Ali Sattar

Based: UAE

Industry: Finance, technology

Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: November 23, 2022, 5:45 PM