Britain mourns Manchester bombing, nation’s worst terror attack in over a decade

UK (MNN) — This week, the world mourns with Britain after a bombing attack on Monday targeted young concert-goers in Manchester, England. At least 22 people were killed and 59 others injured. A dozen victims were under 16-years-old, some even elementary aged. Several of those hospitalized are still in critical condition.

The explosion rocked the foyer at one of the concert arena’s exits around 10:30 pm. The concert’s singer, Ariana Grande, had just exited the stage and many of the young audience members were exiting or purchasing concert memorabilia.

Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says, “[Our] first thought is obviously for the families of those who have lost loved ones — especially thinking of losing young people, teenagers, just what a horrible thing this is for them. Certainly, we want to pray for comfort for them.”

The bomber has been identified as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was killed in the explosion. ISIS has claimed the attack, saying the bomber was a soldier of the caliphate, but the connection has not been verified.

This is the deadliest terror attack Britain has seen since the London bombings in 2005.

“ISIS has sort of made the call to arms for Muslims around the world to strike wherever and however they can. This may be a situation where somebody was inspired by ISIS. Even if they didn’t necessarily have a direct connection or receive training or arms or whatever from ISIS, they were clearly inspired by the ISIS ideology.”

Here are some specific things Nettleton suggests we can pray for:

The families dealing with loss — “I think there are several ways to pray. One is obviously for the families of those who have lost loved ones, just praying that God will comfort them. If they don’t know God, [pray] that somehow through this experience, this would be something that brings them into a relationship with Christ.”

The injured victims and their doctors — “For those who are injured, we want to pray for healing, and pray for the doctors who are treating them and working on them, that they will have supernatural wisdom and understanding and the ability to bring healing.”

Government officials — “I think also we want to pray for government officials who are involved in investigating and making decisions about how to respond to this attack, that they will be guided by God’s wisdom and make wise choices and wise decisions.”