Manchester terror attack: 19 killed in blast at Ariana Grande concert

At least nineteen people have been killed in a suspected explosion at the end of a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in Manchester in northwest England that is being treated as a terrorist incident, police said.

Eyewitnesses described a “huge bomb-like bang” and scenes of panic as young fans fled the venue.A fleet of ambulances was seen rushing to the venue and bomb disposal teams were dispatched soon after.

“So far 19 people have been confirmed dead, with around 50 others injured. This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise,” police said in a statement.

Twitter accounts affiliated to Islamic State 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 is conducting air strikes.

Some witnesses described seeing smoke and smelling burning in the foyer area of the Manchester Arena, others said they had seen nails on the floor. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, suspended her General Election campaign in the wake of the apparent terror attack. It came four years to the day Lee Rigby was murdered by Islamist extremists. Grande said she was "broken" by the incident but she was not harmed.