Alwaght- Death toll from Britain's Manchester city explosion has risen to 22, Chief constable Ian Hopkins confirmed, saying children are among them.
The death toll makes the incident the deadliest attack on British soil since the 7/7 bombings. At least 59 people were left injured following the Monday night explosion at Manchester Arena with children and teenagers being among the dead and injured.
"Our thoughts are with those 22 victims that we now know have died, the 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones," Greater Manchester police statement reads.
Police announced that they are treating the attack "as a terrorist incident" saying that" the attack last night was conducted by one man, the priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network".
Manchester Police statement also confirmed that the attacker "died at the arena" after he detonated his improvised explosive device.
Footage showed thousands of people fleeing the arena in a panic after an explosion ripped through the foyer of the arena around 10.40pm local time where many young people had gathered for a concert.
People reported a huge bang as they left at the end of a performance by US singer Ariana Grande, whose fan base is predominantly teenage girls.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion was heard outside the auditorium after the artist had finished her show and left the stage. There was initial confusion on social media as to whether the loud bang could have been gun shots, or even a speaker exploding, but police confirmed the incident was being treated as suspected terrorism as the grim death toll was announced.
