Manchester explosion: Isis supporters share messages celebrating explosion

Isis supporters celebrated on social media after a blast at a concert venue in Manchester killed at least 19 people, (death toll now 22)  although the militant Islamist group has not formally claimed responsibility.

Police have said they are treating the blast at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande as a “terrorist incident”.

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 US-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.

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

In one video an English-speaking supporter of Isil held up a home made sign with the word “Manchester” and the date of the attack. “This is only the beginning. The lions of Islamic State of Iraq and Sham are beginning to attack all the crusaders,” the masked man said in the short video.

Michael S. Smith II, a US-based terrorism analyst said the celebrations on Isil social media groups were a “strong indicator” that the attack may be linked to the jihadist group.