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Members Of Manchester Attacker’s Mosque Knew He Had A Problem

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Manchester bomber Salman Abedi once exhibited so much hostility to an anti-extremist preacher at his local mosque members feared he would become violent, The Guardian reports.

Abedi reportedly showed the anti-extremist preacher “the face of hate,” and the preacher’s friends sat his adult children next to Abedi in case an altercation broke out. “He was angry,” a neighbor of Abedi told The New York Times of his reaction to the anti-extremist sermon. He continued, “He scared some people.” The incident is just one of a series of red flags in Abedi’s past prior to his killing of 23 people and injuring over 50 at a Monday Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

Abedi’s place of worship, Didsbury Mosque, did not respond to request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“It seems likely — possible — that he wasn’t doing this on his own,” U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd told reporters Wednesday. Manchester police announced Wednesday it is “very clear” that Abedi was part of a larger terrorist network. The announcement follows U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to raise the threat level of the country to critical, meaning another attack could be imminent.

May’s decision came because authorities have not been able to find the bomb making factory where Abedi’s suicide vest was manufactured.

Abedi’s own family members reportedly informed British authorities of him, a U.S. intelligence official told NBCNews. The official also said that Abedi had ties to the al-Qaida network and had received terrorist training abroad. His friends told UK media outlets that he had only recently returned from Libya. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and has an extensive fighter network in the country.

BBCNews reports that Abedi may have served as a mule for an explosive device crafted abroad, and may not have been the bomb-maker himself. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters that Abedi traveled to Syria.

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