Manchester Arena bombing scene photos have been leaked to US media by UK officials, showing details of the bomb that killed 22 people at the end of Ariana Grande's concert on Monday night.
The bomb used in the suicide attack appear to contain carefully packed shrapnel and have a powerful charge, according toleaked photographs from the investigation published by the New York Times on Wednesday.
UK authorities have become increasingly angered by US leaks from the investigation, including the bomber's name on Tuesday and the photos of bloodstained fragments from the bomb on Wednesday.
The pictures show remnants of a blue Karrimor-branded backpack, which could have been used to carry the device, and a possible detonator, which the investigators believed was held in the bomber's left hand, the newspaper said.
"The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again," Home Secretary Amber Rudd said.
But, hours after the warning, the New York Times published the detailed photographs.
A government source told the Guardian newspaper, "Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts."
Nuts and screws propelled by the blast were also shown as well as the remains of a 12-volt battery, which could have been the power source, the New York Times said.
Senior counter-terrorism officials in the UK told the BBC they were frustrated about the leaked photographs being published, saying it undermines the investigation and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.
British police are hunting for potential accomplices who may have helped Salman Abedi build the bomb, and who could be ready to kill again.
It has also been revealed that an al-Qaeda bomb-maker lived on the same street as Abedi, the Telegraph reports.
"The concern is that there may be others out there who helped him to make the bomb. Making a bomb of this sort requires a certain level of expertise and competence," a source with knowledge of the British investigation told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.
British security services are now trying to work out what turned Abedi, the tall, skinny son of a devout Muslim who opposed former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, into a killer.
He was born in Manchester in 1994 to parents of Libyan birth and raised in Britain. His parents had emigrated from Libya to London before moving to south Manchester, where they lived for at least 10 years.
Reuters / Newshub.
