STARTLING new evidence suggests sick suicide bomber Salman Abedi had an accomplice lurking nearby to trigger the bomb if he bottled out at the last minute.

Experts reported to have examined the detonator switch found near Abedi's body revealed it contained special circuitry which suggests the nail-packed explosive could be operated remotely.

6 US officials were the first to identify the attacker as 22-year-old Salman Abedi

6 This is believed to be the detonator used to trigger the bomb which ripped through Manchester Arena

6 An injured woman is escorted from the arena following the nail bomb atrocity Credit: London News Pictures

That backs-up the police's theory that he was part of a highly-organised terror cell linked to ISIS which contained a specialist bomb maker.

There are fears that whoever made the Manchester Arena bomb - which killed 22 and left more than 100 injured - is now on the run and could carry out more attacks.

Officers also believe it is highly unlikely the 22-year-old college drop-out made the sophisticated explosive device himself.

A police source said: "They don't waste bomb makers. The reason we have gone to critical is because he is still out there and the fear is that he will strike again before they get caught."

Those that studied the switch said the circuit board could either have been used as a timer or intended as a failsafe allowing an accomplice to trigger the bomb if Abedi didn't.

Last night chilling photos were released showing the nail bomb the terrorist used in the massacre.

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Forensic pictures leaked to the New York Times show the charred remains of the Karrimor backpack the killer used to conceal the deadly explosive.

Earlier, Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said it was “very clear” that Abedi, the suspected bomber, was only one member of a broader cell.

“This is a network we are investigating,” Mr Hopkins said.

Gerard Collomb, the French interior minister, said Paris had been told by UK officials that Abedi, whose parents came to Britain from Libya, carried out the attack after visiting Libya and “then probably Syria”.

He said this was a clear sign thathe was directed or assisted by ISIS warlords.

The Syria-based extremist group has claimed credit for the bombing, which killed children and teenagers.

6 The ripped remains of the lightweight backpack used to carry the explosive

6 This graphic shows how Abedi detonated the device in the Manchester Arena

6 Police and and paramedics rushed to he scene after the horror blast Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

A US congressman has revealed the bomb suggests a "level of sophistication" that might indicate its maker had foreign training.

Texas Republican Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee claimed the nail bomb was "a classic explosive device used by terrorists."

McCaul said the device used the explosive TATP, the same one used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by ISIS.

McCaul was due to get an intelligence briefing on the Manchester attack later Wednesday.

He says the evidence so far suggests "we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation."

Echoing the comments of British officials, he said: "There's a network a cell of ISIS-inspired terrorists."