Manchester Arena terrorist 'silent and grinning' as he hurled hot oil at prison officers

Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi was “silent and grinning” when he threw boiling oil over three prison officers before stabbing them with a home-made weapon.

Abedi, 28, is believed to have collected sachets of butter at HMP Frankland, County Durham, before melting them down and throwing the hot cooking oil over a female prison officer. The victim, aged in her 30s, was scalded while two male guards were stabbed with "homemade weapons" when ambushed in the kitchen of a separation unit at the prison. Abedi used cooking trays to make two 30cm knives and wrapped kitchen towels around them for handles. Other extremists are believed to have helped him carry out the horror attack, and Abedi is since thought to have been relocated to another prison.

A source told the Sun: “This is a terrorist attack in a prison, not just an assault. It was extremely serious and clearly pre-meditated and planned.” The incident is now being investigated by counter-terror police and the Ministry of Justice. The female warden was discharged from hospital by 4pm on Saturday. Her two male colleagues, one in his 30s and the other around 60, suffered "severe stab wounds" and remain in hospital where their conditions have "stabilised", Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the POA, said on Sunday. The older prison officer was slashed in the neck, and his colleague was stabbed five times in the back and suffered a punctured lung.

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One of the officer’s partners said on social media his family had suffered “the worst day of our lives”. She added: “Thank you to all the people with well wishes of love.” A source said yesterday: “Abedi was completely silent and grinning as he carried out the attack. There is no doubt he wanted to kill and it is miraculous they all survived. But he was acting like a silent assassin.

“Prison staff think Abedi collected loads of sachets of butter or margarine, hid them and used dozens to make the hot oil. They don’t give out bottles of olive oil as it’s dangerous, but they also don’t monitor how many little sachets of butter you take. The attack came totally out of the blue and he first threw the boiling substance over the female officer then stabbed the two guys.

“All hell broke loose. The guy stabbed in the neck was walking down a corridor and holding his wound, with blood pouring out. He was particularly lucky to survive. Other officers raced to the scene and helped the injured guys while a riot team formed outside. Luckily the men responded well to treatment and both are talking. After the attack, Abedi was restrained by the response team. He stayed totally calm throughout and is obviously unhinged.”

Abedi is believed to have been transported to another prison in a white van seen leaving Frankland at 5.45pm last night. The 28-year-old is serving at least 55 years in jail for helping his suicide bomber brother Salman plan the 2017 attack at an concert at the Arena - killing 22 and injuring more than 1,000.