ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Attack

ISIS has claimed responsibility for an explosion outside of Manchester Arena that has now killed 22 people and injured 59. No evidence has been provided to support this claim.One of the victims was an 8-year-old girl, Saffie Roussos.The terror group claimed through a statement that was posted on the terror group’s Telegram channel said that a “soldier of the caliphate” was able to “plant explosive devices” at the Manchester Arena, according to a US counter-terrorism source. No names, photos, or any other details on the attack were given.Twitter accounts that are known to belong to jihadists have used hashtags referring to the blast, and posted celebratory messages; some users even encouraging similar attacks elsewhere.Just after an Ariana Grande concert had finished at the arena, an explosion was witnessed outside the venue in a public area. Many of the attendees of the event were children and teens. At least 12 children under the age of 16 were taken to nearby hospitals with serious injuries. Grande released a statement on Twitter later that night, saying, "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words."Overnight, the city of Manchester was put on lockdown. Public transportation was suspended, and police scoured the area looking for any suspects. U.S. Officials stated for Reuters that the cause of the explosion was suspected to be a suicide bombing. Eyewitness accounts have claimed that "a man" detonated the explosive among fans as they were leaving the arena.This photo was taken after the attack, as the scene of panic unfolded:

"We believe, at this stage, the attack last night was conducted by one man," Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said. "The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network."The attacker, I can confirm, died at the arena. We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device which he detonated causing this atrocity."Many parents took to social media to locate their children after the attacks. Some children, with no way home for the night, were put up by local hotels until they could return home safely.President Trump has reached out to Prime Minister Theresa May about the attack, and released a public statement to the press, saying, "We must obliterate this evil ideology," telling the audience about "beautiful young children savagely murdered in this heinous attack."All British elections have been suspended in the wake of the tragedy. Prime Minister Theresa May has released a statement that her thoughts are with the victims of this "appalling terrorist attack," and that authorities are working hard to look into the details of what happened.