IS supporters celebrate Manchester attack online, no official claim

Emergency response vehicles are parked at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in Manchester. - AFP

CAIRO: Islamic State (IS) supporters celebrated on social media on Tuesday after a blast at a concert venue in the north of England killed at least 19 people, although the militant Islamist group has not formally claimed responsibility.

British police have said they are treating the blast at the arena in Manchester at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande as a "terrorist incident". More than 50 people were wounded.

Twitter accounts affiliated to IS have used hashtags referring to the blast to post celebratory messages, with some users encouraging similar attacks elsewhere.

"It seems that bombs of the British airforce over children of Mosul and Raqqa has just came back to -Manchester," one user named Abdul Haqq said on Twitter, in reference to the Iraqi and Syrian cities held by the militants where a US-led coalition is conducting air strikes.

Supporters posted messages encouraging each other to carry out "lone wolf" attacks in the West and shared IS videos threatening the United States and Europe. - Reuters