MANCHESTER: Britain has arrested a “large part” of the network behind Manchester’s suicide bomb attack, police said on Friday, as the government came under fire for cutting police budgets and election campaigning resumed.

Eight suspects are currently in detention on UK soil in connection with the blast, for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility. While police in Libya have detained the father and brother of 22-year-old bomber Salman Abedi.

Mark Rowley, head of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said police had got hold of “a large part of the network” linked to the atrocity in which seven children aged under 18 were among the 22 dead.

“We are very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about but there’s still a little bit more to do,” he said.

Police said the eight men ranged in age from 18 to 38, including a 30-year-old arrested in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Friday.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017