The North East Counter Terrorism Unit announced on Saturday that it has taken over the investigation into the assault of three prison officers by the brother of the Manchester bombing perpetrator, which resulted in 22 deaths in 2017.
Three officers at Frankland Prison in north-east England, two men and one woman, were attacked with hot cooking oil and then stabbed with makeshift weapons on Saturday.
They were immediately taken to the hospital, with two in serious condition. Their lives are no longer in danger, but they remain hospitalised as of Sunday, according to the latest statement from the British prison officers’ union, POA.
The North East Counter Terrorism Unit cited the nature of the incident as the reason for taking charge, offering no further comments.
The attacker has been identified by the POA as Hashem Abedi. He is serving a life sentence for assisting his brother, Salman, in preparing the 2017 Manchester bombing that killed 22 people and injured hundreds at a concert.
At the time of the bombing, Hashem Abedi was thousands of miles away in Libya, his country of origin, having left the UK a month before the attack. He was eventually arrested on 17 July 2019 upon his arrival in London after being extradited by Libya.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood expressed her shock over the Frankland attack on Saturday, stating on X that she would demand “the severest possible penalty” for the assailant.
