MANCHESTER suicide bomber Salman Abedi targeted young girls attending a pop concert because he wanted “revenge” on Britain for Western military intervention in the Middle East, his sister has claimed.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jomana Abedi described her brother “as kind and loving” and said she was surprised by his murderous actions at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday.

“I think he saw children – Muslim children – dying everywhere, and wanted revenge,” she told the American paper. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge.

“Whether he got that is between him and God.”

Abedi’s attack on Monday left 22 dead and at least 60 injured, some of them seriously.

The killer’s family has been the focus of part of an international investigation, with Abedi’s father, Ramadan, and brothers Hashim arrested in Tripoli by a local militia. While Ismael was detained by police in Chorlton.

Ramadan was arrested in Tripoli and was allegedly a member of the al-Qaeda-backed and anti-Gaddafi Libyan Islamic Fighting group (LIFG) in the 1990s, according to a former Libyan security official.

The elder Abedi, who left Manchester and moved back to Libya with the family after Gadaffi was deposed, has denied ever being part of the militant group, who were designated a terrorist group by the US.

Abedi reportedly left Libya five days ago, telling his parents he was going on pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Libyans also claim Abedi spoke to his mother, Samia, 15 minutes before detonating his suicide belt.

A spokesman for the Libyan government claimed Hashim admitted, “under interrogation” which could possibly mean torture, that he was aware of his brother’s plans.

Police and the security services are coming under pressure to explain why Abedi managed to carry out the attack, after it emerged he had been a “subject of interest” to MI5. Concerns about the 22-year-old’s behaviour had also been passed on to police by neighbours, friends, students, and fellow worshippers at Didsbury Mosque.

Abedi had been banned from the mosque after criticising an imam for “talking bollocks” during a sermon critical of Daesh.

But it seems increasingly likely he was the vehicle for the attack, and not involved in the planning, with security experts suggesting Abedi did not have the know-how to have planned Monday’s atrocity on his own.

A security source said: “MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time.

“Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

“Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider reopening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information.”

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.”

The Queen visited some of the youngsters injured in the blast at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and condemned the “very wicked” attack.

Prof Bob Pearson, medical director of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, said 18 adults and 14 children injured in the blast remained in hospital. They included five adults and five children who were in critical care, including Barra schoolgirl Laura MacIntyre.

The Queen’s visit to the hospital came after the nation fell silent at 11am to mark the atrocity.

Across Britain, people stopped what they were doing to remember those killed by Abedi.

The identities of 21 of the 22 victims have now been revealed. They are: Courtney Boyle, 19; Philip Tron, 32; Elaine McIver; Liam Curry, 19; Wendy Fawell, 50; Eilidh MacLeod, 14; Michelle Kiss, 45; Olivia Campbell, 15; Martyn Hett, 29; Kelly Brewster, 32; Saffie Rose Roussos, eight; Georgina Callander, 18; John Atkinson, 28; Alison Howe, 45; Lisa Lees, 47; Angelika Klis, 40; Marcin Klis, 42; Nell Jones, 14; Jane Tweddle- Taylor, 51; Sorrell Leczkowski, 14; Chloe Rutherford, 17.

Doctors and nurses at the children’s hospital stood outside together for a minute’s silence before breaking into spontaneous applause.

In Manchester’s St Ann’s Square, and in a moment that will likely define the city’s reaction to the attack, hundreds who had gathered broke into a spontaneous chorus of the Oasis song Don’t Look Back in Anger.

Meanwhile, neither Aberdeen nor Celtic will hold street parties following the Scottish Cup Final.

Aberdeen confirmed there would be no victory parade on Sunday should they lift the Cup on Saturday. Celtic also said, in the event of winning, the team would not be able to parade the trophy back at Celtic Park.

The planned Heroes and Legends bus parade at Celtic Park on Sunday has also been cancelled. Both teams said the decisions had been made after discussions with Police Scotland.

Chief Constable Phil Gormley said security arrangements around upcoming events such as the Scottish Cup Final, tonight’s visit to Scotland by former US president Barack Obama, and the Edinburgh Marathon had all been reviewed to ensure they were “fit for purpose”.

He said he was confident the force had “sufficient firearms capability to meet all foreseeable threats and demands going forward”.