Ariana Grande suicide attack happened on fourth anniversary of British soldier murder

The suicide blast at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester happened on the anniversary of the death of a British soldier who was murdered by Islamic extremists.

The horrific attack at the concert came on the fourth anniversary of the murder of Lee Rigby.

Rigby was run down and stabbed, while walking along a London street on May 22, 2013.

Rigby was off duty when Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale ran him down and used knives and a cleaver to hack him to death.

The murder was said to be an act to avenge the killing of Muslims by British armed forces.

This time around, the cowardly Manchester attack, was a soft target with mass casualties.

Big-city arenas have always been high on terrorism’s hit list due to big crowds, tightly packed in and with limited exit points.

They’re considered hard to protect.

The 2015 targets of the Paris attacks included the national sport stadium, where three bombers died, but only one bystander – thanks to high security at the venue.

This time it’s claimed the suicide bomber struck at Manchester Arena just before a security checkpoint.

The venue is north of the city centre, next to Victoria Station.

It has a capacity of 21,000 and has the most seating of any UK indoor venue.

The blast occurred near the box office at the railway entrance.

It would have been packed with parents waiting to collect their kids from the concert.

One man who was waiting for his wife and daughter, was blown ten metres across the hall.

Phone footage captured the absolute terror felt by those involved in the chaos.

The Ariana Grande concert had a big crowd, there to see the 23-year-old American pop star.

She had only just played Dublin and was due to arrive in London next.

In Manchester it was 10.35pm when she had just finished her final encore.

Manchester is not known for extremism, it’s considered ethnically diverse and has pockets of poverty and high unemployment. It’s also known for its gay community and world famous musicians such as Oasis, Simply Red and Take That.

It’s not the first time Manchester has been the target of terror.

In 1996 the IRA exploded a 1500 kilogram truck bomb in the city centre, injuring 200.

The IRA had issued a warning 90 minutes before the attack.

In today’s attack, the terrorist issued no such courtesy.