The Islamic state has claimed responsibility of a suicide attack which left at least 22 people killed at Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday night.

 In a statement released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's official Amaq news agency, they said it was revenge for attacks on "Muslim lands".

"One of the soldiers of the Caliphate was able to place an explosive device within a gathering of the Crusaders in the city of Manchester," it said, appearing to challenge the Manchester police theory it had been a suicide attack.

The jihadist group also claimed the attack, which killed at least 22 people - including children - and injured 59 more concertgoers leaving a packed Ariana Grande performance at Manchester Arena, was planned beforehand.

They described the venue as a "shameless"

Isil did not publish a name or picture of the assailant, which they have done for some major attacks in the past.
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest militant assault on the UK since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005.

US officials drew parallels between the blast and the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by Islamist militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris, which claimed about 130 lives.