

The father of Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena suicide bomber, fought against the Gaddafi regime with a group that was designated a terrorist organisation by the US, according to a man who says he fought alongside him.

Salman Abedi, 22, who was known to the British security services, is thought to have returned from Libya as recently as this week. His parents, Ramadan Abedi and Samia Tabbal, who escaped the Gaddafi regime in the early 1990s and fled to the UK, now live in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Their youngest son, Hashem, 20, is also believed to be with them in Libya – and on Wednesday both Hashem and Ramadan were said to have been arrested, reportedly by a local militia.

Salman Abedi was born in Manchester and grew up in a tight-knit Libyan community that was known for its strong opposition to Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

His father fought against the Gaddafi regime during the Libyan revolution in 2011 with the Libyan Islamic fighting group (LIFG). The US state department says that elements of LIFG were aligned with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 2004.

Ramadan Abedi, a security officer, and his wife, Samia, were both born in Tripoli but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to south Manchester, where they had lived for at least a decade.

Akram Ramadan, 49, who fought with Ramadan Abedi in the Libyan revolution, said he was passionate about overthrowing a regime that had “displaced thousands of his brethren … It was something we all felt we had to do. Some were more radical than others but we all shared a common cause,” he added.

Akram Ramadan, a mechanic, first met the Abedi family at the Manchester Islamic centre also known as the Didsbury mosque – a moderate Sunni mosque – when they arrived in 1992. Ramadan Abedi was given a job at the mosque as a muezzin, to call out prayer five times a day.

“He was a normal, straightforward, likable guy. He would sometimes lead the prayer, too. He was obviously religious but nothing out of the ordinary.”

The couple first moved to Fallowfield and then Whalley Range, and went on to have four children: Ismail, 23, Salman, 22, Hashem, 20 and a daughter, Jumana.

All the children were enrolled in British schools and the family were said to be settled, but in 2011 their lives changed dramatically when Ramadan Abedi decided to travel back to his north African homeland to fight in the first Libyan civil war, also referred to as the Libyan revolution. The armed conflict between forces loyal to Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government would last for eight months, but Ramadan Abedi was never to make his home in the UK again.

“I also fought in the war. We were in the same group over there – we called ourselves the Manchester fighters – we even had our own logo. Three-quarters of the fighters at the beginning of the revolution were from Manchester – the rest came from London, Sheffield, China and Japan. From everywhere.

We were in the same group over there - we called ourselves the Manchester fighters - we even had our own logo Akram Ramadan

“Seeing lots of Libyans unite against one common enemy was a dream come true. It was also like a nightmare, but we were fighting for a common cause.”

Akram Ramadan, who was born in Manchester, fought in the conflict because his father was a political opponent of Gaddafi and had been ousted from the country. He remained in Libya fighting from July 2011 to August 2014 in the mountains and in Tripoli.

“I saw Ramadan in the mountains and later in Tripoli. We were all soldiers – we all bore arms. It was a war zone. Many of the people who fought in the conflict weren’t actually born in Libya, but they had this common cause of their families being persecuted or being kicked out of the country by the regime.

“When I met Ramadan it was always at the forefront of his mind about how we were going to gain control of our country again. He was very passionate about the common cause and common good for Libya.”

During his time in Libya, Ramadan Abedi was also known to be part of the Libyan Islamic fighting group, which was also known as Muqtalla group.

“This group was fighting Gaddafi in the mid-90s in the eastern side of Libya. The group were defeated in 1996. It was a group that wanted to overthrow Gaddafi but they also possibly had some guys who were affiliated with al-Qaida. Did some of these guys carry the torch of al-Qaida? Possibly.”

Akram Ramadan said Ramadan Abedi only came back to the UK three months ago after leaving in 2011. He only remained in Britain for 10 days to sort out “paperwork” with his council property and then returned to Libya. Three of his children, including Salman, remained in the UK to finish their studies.

Speaking before news of the arrests in Tripoli, Akram Ramadan said: “I suspect he will now be coming back to clear matters up with the police. He is the the type of person who does not like to leave things – he will want to sort things out.”

Akram Ramadan understands that Salman Abedi returned to Libya to see his parents and younger brother three months ago for a family wedding. “It never crossed my mind that Salman would ever do anything like this. I believed him to have moderate views. I have spoken to Ismail’s father-in-law and he is in shock. The whole family are.”

Akram Ramadan said that most of the Libyan youth in Manchester felt “disbanded” and did not know where they belonged. “They don’t belong to either society. They are neither Libyan nor British. They are not accepted anywhere. And Libyan society considers them half-breeds. They are not accepted, which leads to so much frustration and discontent.”