Inside the Manchester arena bomber’s lair: Photos reveal flat where terrorist made explosives

New pictures have been released of the council flat that Salman Abedi lived and stored bomb components in as he prepared for the Manchester Arena terror attack.

Islamic terrorist Salman Abedi killed 22 people including children as they watched singer Ariana Grande perform at a concert in May 2017.  

Aimen Elwafi, the man who sub-let his council flat to Salman in March and April 2017, said he was ‘so angry’ at the state his flat had been left in after he noticed wires hanging down from the ceiling and that the smoke alarm had been removed.

A cluttered area of the 12th floor apartment in Manchester is pictured above. Aimen Elwafi said he was in financial difficulty so rented the flat to Salman Abedi for a short time after placing an advert on a Libyan Facebook page

Abedi had left the council flat in such a state that he called the owner and said sorry. 

Mr Elwafi said there were water bottles filled with cloudy liquid in the freezer, the electricity had been switched off, and a mattress, sleeping bags and a blanket had been left behind.

Mr Elwafi said Abedi ‘left the flat in a hurry’ in mid-April and called him from the airport.

Abedi’s brother, Hashem, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions in the Manchester Arena attack on May 22 2017.

The trial previously heard that the brothers Salman and Hashem Abedi left the UK for Libya in April, with Salman returning to Manchester alone on May 18. Salman is pictured above

The trial previously heard that the brothers Salman and Hashem Abedi left the UK for Libya in April, with Salman returning to Manchester alone on May 18. Salman is pictured above 

Mr Elwafi told police: 'I opened my flat door and I smelt a funny, strong smell. 'It smelled like petrol and diesel.' He added: 'I noticed the carpet was dirty. 'The next thing I noticed was the wire in the ceiling was hanging down and the smoke alarm was gone'

Mr Elwafi told police: ‘I opened my flat door and I smelt a funny, strong smell. ‘It smelled like petrol and diesel.’ He added: ‘I noticed the carpet was dirty. ‘The next thing I noticed was the wire in the ceiling was hanging down and the smoke alarm was gone’

The messy kitchen area is pictured above with oven doors, kitchen drawers and the washing machine door all open. The older brother, 22 at the time of the attack, paid £850 for two months' use of the one-bedroom flat, the court heard

The messy kitchen area is pictured above with oven doors, kitchen drawers and the washing machine door all open. The older brother, 22 at the time of the attack, paid £850 for two months’ use of the one-bedroom flat, the court heard

Litter-strewn bedroom: Mr Elwafi said Abedi 'left the flat in a hurry' in mid-April and called him from the airport. Bags of discarded clothes and rubbish and pictured above in one bedroom

Litter-strewn bedroom: Mr Elwafi said Abedi ‘left the flat in a hurry’ in mid-April and called him from the airport. Bags of discarded clothes and rubbish and pictured above in one bedroom

Clutter is crammed into a cupboard

A laundry basket and even more rubbish is pictured above inside the boiler cupboard

Clutter is crammed into a cupboard, left, while a laundry basket and even more rubbish is pictured above inside the boiler cupboard

Prosecutors allege that Hashem, now 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb, which were stored at Mr Elwafi’s flat in Somerton Court, Manchester.

The trial previously heard that the brothers left the UK for Libya in April, with Salman returning to Manchester alone on May 18.

Prosecutors say that materials for the bomb were later stored in vehicles around Manchester before being used in the attack.

In a witness statement read to the court, Mr Elwafi said he was in financial difficulty so rented the flat to Salman Abedi for a short time after placing an advert on a Libyan Facebook page.

The older brother, 22 at the time of the blast, paid £850 for two months’ use of the one-bedroom flat, the court heard.

Mr Elwafi told police that Salman arrived to look around the property with his younger brother, but was ‘impolite’ because he did not accept a cup of tea or introduce himself with his full name. 

Prosecutors allege that Hashem, now 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb, which were stored at Mr Elwafi's flat in Somerton Court, Manchester

Prosecutors allege that Hashem, now 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb, which were stored at Mr Elwafi’s flat in Somerton Court, Manchester

The sub-let (in Somerton Court, Manchester, which is pictured above) was cut short when Mr Elwafi received a phone call from Salman. Mr Elwafi, a law graduate, told police: 'He said: 'I have got to give you the keys, I'm going back to Libya'

The sub-let (in Somerton Court, Manchester, which is pictured above) was cut short when Mr Elwafi received a phone call from Salman. Mr Elwafi, a law graduate, told police: ‘He said: ‘I have got to give you the keys, I’m going back to Libya’

The dirty interior of a microwave is pictured above inside the property. Mr Elwafi later contacted police to explain the sub-let, and spent time in custody before being released without charge a few days later

The dirty interior of a microwave is pictured above inside the property. Mr Elwafi later contacted police to explain the sub-let, and spent time in custody before being released without charge a few days later

The council tenant said in his witness statement: ‘I didn’t find anything suspicious, I just thought he was rude. It was done in a hurry.’

The sub-let was cut short when Mr Elwafi received a phone call from Salman.

Mr Elwafi, a law graduate, told police: ‘He said: ‘I have got to give you the keys, I’m going back to Libya.’

‘I asked if everything was OK, I thought someone had passed away. He just said he had some personal issues.’

Mr Elwafi returned to the flat that evening, and said he was shocked at what he saw.

Abedi's brother, Hashem, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions in the Manchester Arena attack on May 22 2017

Abedi’s brother, Hashem, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions in the Manchester Arena attack on May 22 2017

He told police: ‘I opened my flat door and I smelt a funny, strong smell.

‘It smelled like petrol and diesel.’

He added: ‘I noticed the carpet was dirty.

‘The next thing I noticed was the wire in the ceiling was hanging down and the smoke alarm was gone.

‘There were four bottles of mineral water. I smelled that, and it was very strong, the same smell that was carrying through the flat.’

He told police he was ‘angry that they had left my flat in this way’. 

Mr Elwafi said he found some kitchen foil shaped into a bowl, containing some sort of substance designed to make the flat smell good.

He added: ‘At first I thought about black magic, I was trying to find an explanation. I didn’t think it was illegal.’

Mr Elwafi said Salman phoned him from the airport the following day, during which he told Mr Elwafi to throw away the bottles with the cloudy liquid, before ‘quickly’ changing the subject, jurors heard.

‘He told me he had to leave in a hurry,’ Mr Elwafi said. ‘He said he was sorry.’

Mr Elwafi said he did not speak to Salman again, but recognised his face in the media coverage the day after the bombing.

Mr Elwafi later contacted police to explain the sub-let, and spent time in custody before being released without charge a few days later.

Hashem Abedi denies all charges and the trial continues. 

Mr Elwafi said the electricity had been switched off

Mr Elwafi said a mattress, sleeping bags and a blanket had been left behind

Mr Elwafi said there were water bottles filled with cloudy liquid in the freezer, the electricity had been switched off, and a mattress, sleeping bags and a blanket had been left behind

 

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