Congressional lawmakers paused Tuesday morning to pay respects for the victims of the terrorist attack in Manchester.
House Intelligence Committee Chief Mike Conaway opened a hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election with a prayer for the 22 people killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing in the British city Monday night.
Islamic State claimed credit for the Manchester attack, which was the worst terrorist strike to hit the United Kingdom since the July 7, 2005, bombings. The so-called 7/7 attacks by al Qaeda operatives targeted buses and subway stations in central London, leaving 56 dead and over 700 wounded.
“Out hearts go out to the families of those who have list loved ones and to those injured” in the Manchester attack, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.
He said it was “too early to determine” responsibility for the attack, but vowed to coordinate closely with his counterparts in the U.K.’s Foreign Commonwealth Office.
The bomber set off his deadly ordnance outside the Manchester Arena, a massive venue where Ariana Grande was holding a concert for an audience of mostly children, teenagers and their parents.
On Capitol Hill, Washington Democrat and panel ranking member Adam Schiff also offered his condolences Tuesday during his opening statement on the Russia hearings. The hearing’s sole witness, former CIA chief John Brennan, wished the Manchester victims “godspeed” before beginning his testimony.
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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