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Police Arrest Suspect In 1996 Manchester City Bombing Ahead Of England-Scotland Football Match

Police Arrest Suspect In 1996 Manchester City Bombing Ahead Of England-Scotland Football Match
September 9, 2022

The area was evacuated after the police were alerted to a telephoned bomb threat.

A man has been arrested at the Birmingham Airport in connection with the 1996 IRA bombing in Manchester city centre, United Kingdom, the police have said.

No fewer than 250 people were injured but no fatalities, on 15 June that year in what was described as the UK mainland's largest bomb since World War Two.

Thousands of shoppers and football fans had gathered in the city centre ahead of a Euro 1996 match later that day between England and Scotland at the Wembley Stadium in London.

The area was evacuated after the police were alerted to a telephoned bomb threat.

The device detonated soon after in a lorry parked on Corporation Street, leading to mushroom cloud rising over the city's skyline.

However, the suspect was arrested on suspicion of terror offences on Thursday night and remains in custody, according to Counter Terrorism Policing for the North West (CTPNW), according to the BBC.

The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it was "determined to hold those responsible for this attack to account regardless of the time passed".

The suspect, who is in police custody, will be interviewed by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing for the North West (CTPNW).

Head of investigations Det Supt Andrew Meeks said officers had been "reinvestigating for several years. Although thankfully no one was killed during the 1996 Manchester bombing by the IRA, hundreds of people were left with injuries - many of which were life changing.

"Many more across Greater Manchester and the North West were affected by what happened on that day."