Jess Battison
Manchester bomb plotter Hashem Abedi inflicted horrific injuries on three prison officers in a sickening attack on Saturday (12 April).
He was apparently ‘smiling and grinning’ during the incident as the government are now carrying out a review into the attack while police investigate.
Convicted of assisting with the 2017 Manchester terror plot in which his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert, he is currently serving a record-breaking 55-year minimum sentence at the category A HMP Frankland in County Durham, UK.
The prison is of the highest level of security and has a separation centre aimed at controlling and containing prisoners with extreme views.
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It is believed the 28-year-old acted alone as the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said the officers were left with life-threatening injuries. Abedi used hot oil and ‘home made weapons’ in his attack.
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According to The Sun, he hoarded ‘dozens’ and melted down ‘sachets of butter or margarine’ to create a hot oil which he hurled at a female warden. Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) said she was discharged from the hospital at 4pm on Saturday.
Her two colleagues suffered ‘severe stab wounds’ as CTP said last night they remained in hospital with serious injuries.
The outlet further reports that Abedi made two 30cm knives out of cooking trays he ‘was allowed to use’ and wrapped them in kitchen towels to make handles.
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Described as ‘smiling and grinning’, he reportedly then slashed an officer in the neck on the E wing before stabbing the other five times in the back, leaving him with a punctured lung.
“There is no doubt he wanted to kill and it is miraculous they all survived. But he was acting like a silent assassin,” a source claimed.
It’s added that the ‘attack came totally out of the blue’.
“He first threw the boiling substance over the female officer then stabbed the two guys,” the source continued.
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“All hell broke loose. The guy stabbed in the neck was walking down a corridor and holding his wound, with blood pouring out.
“He was particularly lucky to survive. Other officers raced to the scene and helped the injured guys while a riot team formed outside.”
After this horrific attack, Abedi was reportedly restrained having ‘stayed totally calm throughout’.
Following the incident, CTP’s acting senior national co-ordinator, Commander Dom Murphy, said: “Given the nature of the incident, it has been agreed that CTP North East will lead the investigation, supported by Durham Constabulary.
“This is an ongoing investigation which is in its early stages, and we are working hard to establish the facts. Therefore, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
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POA national chairman Mark Fairhurst told the BBC on Sunday morning: “First and foremost my thoughts are with the injured staff, their families and of course their colleagues who had to deal with the aftermath. Two are still in hospital with serious injuries but I’m glad to report they’ve stabilised.
“They all have burns and scalds and the two in hospital have severe stab wounds.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told LADbible in a statement: "The Government will do whatever it takes to keep our hardworking staff safe and our thoughts remain with the two prison officers still in hospital as they recover. We’ve already taken immediate action to suspend access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres.
“We will also launch a full independent review into how this attack was able to happen and will set out the terms and scope of this review in the coming days.”