Two prison officers stabbed by Manchester bombing plotter in stable condition

Undated photo issued by Greater Manchester Police of Hashem Abedi, one of the plotters of a deadly bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. (Greater Manchester Police via AP)

LONDON — Two prison officers allegedly stabbed by one of the plotters of a deadly bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, eight years ago are in a stable condition in the hospital, the union representing them said Sunday.

Hashem Abedi, who in August 2020 was convicted of 22 counts of murder and sentenced to at least 55 years in prison for helping plan the 2017 attack, threw hot cooking oil over three officers on Saturday before stabbing them with “home-made weapons,” according to the Prison Officers Association.

Two male officers sustained life-threatening injuries including burns, scalds and stab wounds in the “unprovoked” and “vicious” attack at Frankland prison in the northeast of England, it added.

A female officer was released from the hospital on Saturday.

The union’s national chairman, Mark Fairhurst, said the attack was carried out in a separation center where inmates are allowed to use cooking facilities.

These specialized units within prison were introduced in 2017 after a spate of terror attacks in the U.K., including in Manchester, and were designed to isolate inmates deemed to have extremist political or religious views and prevent them from disrupting the prison estate, supporting acts of terrorism or radicalizing other inmates.

“To allow that type of prisoner to access the kitchen and use of the utensils that can be used as weapons against staff, and can inflict serious harm on staff, that needs to be removed immediately,” Fairhurst told the BBC. “We’re now worried about the knock-on effect of this and copycat incidents.”

Abedi was convicted of assisting with the Manchester terror plot, in which his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi killed 22 people by detonating a a bomb hidden in a knapsack as fans were leaving the Grande concert. In addition to those killed, more than 260 people were wounded and hundreds of others were left with psychological injuries.

Counterterrorism officials are leading the investigation into the attack, with assistance from local police.

U.K. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on X that she will be “pushing for the strongest possible punishment. Violence against our staff will never be tolerated.”

The Associated Press