British police have arrested a seventh person in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing.

  • Bomber British-born Libyan Salman Abedi 'likely' did not act alone
  • Abedi believed to have 'proven links' to ISIS
  • A total of 7 have been arrested in connection to bombing that left 22 dead
  • Ariana Grande to postpone the rest of her concert tour

The man was held Wednesday after police carried out searches in the English town of Nuneaton, which is about 161 kilometers (100 miles) south of Manchester.

His arrest was the first in England to take place outside of Manchester since the bombing.

Greater Manchester Police says six men and one woman remain in custody as the department investigates the Monday night bombing that killed 22 people.

Greater Manchester Police said the woman was detained during a series of property searches in the Blackley area of the city.

One of the men arrested is the older brother of the alleged bomber, Salman Abedi.

The Manchester police said in a statement: “This is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.”

Abedi’s father and younger brother also have been detained in Libya.

A Libyan anti-terror force that arrested the brother says he had links to the Islamic State extremist group and was aware of his brother’s plans.

The Special Deterrent anti-terror force said in a statement on its Facebook page that the arrest took place in Tripoli as Hashim Abedi was receiving cash transferred from his brother, Salman.

The force’s statement says: “The brother was aware of all the details of the terrorist attack.”

The Libyan security force claimed that Hashim Abedi told authorities that both he and his brother belonged to IS.

The Facebook statement says Hashim left Britain for Libya in April.

Special Deterrent force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem also told the Associated Press that Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, was detained in Tripoli on Wednesday.

Bin Salem says the elder Abedi was detained for interrogations.

Before his arrest, the father told the AP that his son was innocent and had been planning a trip to Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage.

Ramadan Abedi also had said he worked as the administrative manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

He said he fled Tripoli in 1993 after Moammar Gadhafi’s security authorities issued an arrest warrant and eventually sought political asylum in Britain.

Meanwhile, the British government says a national minute of silence will be observed on Thursday to remember those who died or were affected by Monday’s bombing at a Manchester arena.

The silence will take place at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday. Officials also said that flags will remain at half-mast on government buildings until Thursday evening.

Britain’s political parties say they plan to resume campaigning Friday for the June 8 general election after putting campaign events on hold to show respect to bombing victims.

Ariana Grande suspends world tour

Ariana Grande suspended her "Dangerous Woman" world tour and canceled several European shows Wednesday due to the deadly bombing at her concert in Manchester, England.

Shows Thursday and Friday in London were canceled, along with concerts through June 5 in Belgium, Poland, Germany and Switzerland. Refunds will be granted, the pop star’s managers said in a statement. The tour was suspended to “further assess the situation and pay our proper respects” to the 22 dead and dozens injured in Monday’s suicide attack in the northern England town.

Grande’s tour is to pick up June 7 in Paris, followed by several more countries in Europe before moving on to Latin America, Asia and elsewhere.

“We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together,” the statement said.

Grande, who reportedly is in Boca Raton, Florida, with her family, has kept a low profile since the blast. An 8-year-old girl was among the dead. Grande took to Twitter afterward to say she was “broken” and “i don’t have words.”

Sylvie Hui in London, Rob Harris in Manchester and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.