Detectives have released a series of images of Manchester bomber Salman Abedi as they strive to make sense of the terrorist’s final movements and motives.

Greater Manchester police said Abedi left the UK on 15 April and arrived back on 18 May, four days before he detonated a backpack bomb at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Salman Abedi pictured using a cashpoint. Photograph: GMP/PA

Detectives have confirmed that Abedi, a British Libyan, bought parts for the devastating bomb after arriving back in the UK but they have been unable to determine whether he acquired parts before he left the UK for Libya.

They have scrutinised CCTV to try to determine when and how the bomb was made, which has led them to the Banff Road area in Rusholme, where houses have been repeatedly searched.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Salman Abedi pulling a blue suitcase. Photograph: GMP/PA

“We have had police officers conducting house-to-house inquiries, but we are still not satisfied why Abedi went there, and it’s vital we understand exactly where he went there and who he spoke to in these final days before the attack,” said DCI Russ Jackson, head of the north-west counter-terrorism unit.

