Terrorist used welfare payments to construct bomb for Ariana Grande concert

The terrorist who bombed the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena bomber used his mother’s government benefits money to buy bomb-making equipment, a jury in London heard.

Earlier this week, in the trial Hashem Abedi – the brother of the Manchester bomber – the court heard that duo’s mother, Samia Abedi, had received over £2,000 every month in welfare payments and that her bank card was used to purchase bomb-making equipment, The Independent reports.

Despite having left the United Kingdom to go live in Libya, Ms. Abedi continued to receive welfare payments of about £550 per week until three days before the attack on the Manchester Arena.

Not long before the attack, Ms. Abedi’s bank card was used to buy an industrial-sized battery and other tools that were used to construct that bomb that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more, the court heard.

The jury also heard that in January of 2017, Salman Abedi received £3,260 in his bank account from the state-backed Student Loans Company. Shortly after, on the 23^rd of January, a series of cash withdrawals of £790, £710, £800 and £700 were made from Salman Abedi’s personal bank account. A day later, Abedi reported that his that he had lost his bank card and claimed there had been fraud on his account.

Hashem Abedi has denied having any involvement in or knowing anything about his brother Salman’s plans to bomb the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017. He’s pleaded not guilty to all the charges.