UK police arrest 2 more in Manchester blast case

Britain lowered its security threat level to “severe” on Saturday following significant activity by police investigating the suicide bomb attack on a pop concert in Manchester, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

Earlier, police hunting a suspected network behind Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed 22 people on Monday night, said they had made two further arrests overnight as they closed in on other possible cell members.

May said this meant that the independent body which sets the threat level had decided it should be lowered from its highest rating “critical”, which means an attack could be imminent, to “severe”.

As a result, soldiers who have been assisting police, would be withdrawn from Britain’s streets from midnight on Monday.

“A significant amount of police activity has taken place over the last 24 hours and there are now 11 suspects in custody,” May said.

“The public should be clear about what this means. A threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

The threat assessment has now been returned to the level it was at prior to the Manchester attack.

Officers said they had used a controlled explosion to gain entry to an address in the north of the city where two men were detained 

on Saturday.

Some hours later, police cordoned off a large area in the Moss Side area of south Manchester and houses were evacuated with a bomb disposal unit sent to the scene.

REUTERS