Cairo: ISIS supporters celebrated on social media on Tuesday after a blast at a concert venue in the north of England killed at least 19 people, although the militant Islamist group has not formally claimed responsibility.
British police have said they are treating the blast at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande as a "terrorist incident". More than 50 people were wounded.
Twitter accounts affiliated to ISIS have used hashtags referring to the blast to post celebratory messages, with some users encouraging similar attacks elsewhere.
Some messages described the attack as an act of revenge in response to air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
"It seems that bombs of the British airforce over children of Mosul and Raqqa has just came back to #Manchester," one user named Abdul Haqq said on Twitter, in reference to the Iraqi and Syrian cities held by the militants where a U.S.-led coalition, of which Britain is a member, is conducting air strikes.
Supporters posted messages encouraging each other to carry out "lone wolf" attacks in the West and shared ISIS videos threatening the United States and Europe.
One user said he hoped ISIS was responsible for the attack, although no claim has appeared on any of the militant's group's official social media channels.
"We hope that the perpetrator is one of the soldiers of the caliphate," he wrote on a channel affiliated to the group hosted by messaging network Telegram.
Others posted banners saying "the beginning is in Brussels and Paris, and in London we form a state," in reference to previous similar "lone wolf" attacks in Belgium and France for which the group has claimed responsibility.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the blast was being treated as a terrorist attack.
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest militant assault on Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005.
U.S. officials drew parallels between the blast and the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by Islamist militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris, which claimed about 130 lives.
Two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that initial signs pointed to a suicide bomber as being responsible for the blast.
(Reporting by Mostafa Hashem; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)
British police have said they are treating the blast at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande as a "terrorist incident". More than 50 people were wounded.
Twitter accounts affiliated to ISIS have used hashtags referring to the blast to post celebratory messages, with some users encouraging similar attacks elsewhere.
"It seems that bombs of the British airforce over children of Mosul and Raqqa has just came back to #Manchester," one user named Abdul Haqq said on Twitter, in reference to the Iraqi and Syrian cities held by the militants where a U.S.-led coalition, of which Britain is a member, is conducting air strikes.
Advertisement
One user said he hoped ISIS was responsible for the attack, although no claim has appeared on any of the militant's group's official social media channels.
Advertisement
Others posted banners saying "the beginning is in Brussels and Paris, and in London we form a state," in reference to previous similar "lone wolf" attacks in Belgium and France for which the group has claimed responsibility.
Advertisement
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest militant assault on Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005.
Advertisement
Two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that initial signs pointed to a suicide bomber as being responsible for the blast.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2017
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Ex UK Prime Minister Theresa May To Step Down As Member Of Parliament Theresa May, Back In Parliament Amid Brexit Chaos, Is No Longer Target British PM Theresa May Tenders Her Resignation To Queen Elizabeth II Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Opposes Karnataka's Job Quota Bill, Minister Responds On Camera, Jagan Reddy's Party Member Hacked To Death On Busy Andhra Road QS Executive MBA Rankings 2024: IIM Bangalore Tops Among Indian Institutes US Cop Who Laughed After Indian Student Jaahnavi Kandula's Death Fired Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.