Ariana Grande makes birthday tribute to youngest victim of Manchester attack

Ariana Grande has shared a tribute to Manchester terror attack victim Saffie Roussos, on what would have been her ninth birthday.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi claimed the lives of 22 people when he set off a home-made device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena as the crowds left following Ariana's concert there in May (17).

Saffie was one of seven children killed in the horrific incident, and Ariana made sure fans knew she was thinking of the late youngster following her gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday (05Jul17).

"What's newwwww, Buenos Aires Argentina, I love you. Saffie, we're (thinking) of you baby," Ariana wrote, concluding the post with a birthday cake emoji.

Ariana's message came after Saffie's family also paid tribute on Tuesday, which would have been her actual birthday. Her father Andrew Roussos said in an interview with the BBC that he had been invited to meet the singer before her One Love Manchester charity gig in June, organized to raise money for the victims of the terror attack.

"I wanted to tell her what she meant to Saffie," he said of their conversation. "I wanted to tell her from a father's point of view that she's got nothing to be sorry for... It wasn't her fault. All she could say to me was, 'I'm sorry', and I said, 'You've got nothing to be sorry for. You made Saffie so happy with what you do'.

"She thanked me. She appreciated me telling her that."

Following the bombing in Manchester, Ariana took it upon herself to put together the One Love Manchester concert, where stars including Miley Cyrus, Coldplay and Niall Horan united to raise money for the Red Cross and We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The concert raised more than $9 million for those affected by the bombing and the families of the victims, and Ariana thanked supporters for backing the cause in a heartfelt message on her Twitter page last month.

"Thank you for being here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity in supporting One Love Manchester and for helping the families as much as you possibly could," she wrote. "Thank you for bringing your absolute brightest, most passionate, contagious energy to these shows and for wiping my tears away. I'm immensely grateful!!!!"