Counter-terror officers stormed addresses in Gorton, Rusholme and Moss Side and explosions were reported at several of the searches, but police would not comment on whether controlled blasts were used to gain entry.
Three people were arrested, but quickly released during the operation at Moss Side, leading them to post an outraged sign on their front door.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd says temporary exclusion orders, banning suspected jihadis from returning to the UK, have been used for the first time.
Rudd says members of Abedi's circle could still be at large, despite a wave of arrests leading to the country's terror threat level being de-escalated.
CCTV stills of Abedi, bespectacled and casually clothed, were released by police in a plea for information about his movements between May 18 and the attack.
Seven children were among the dead in what was the most costly terror attack to hit Britain since the July 7 bombings in 2005.
- PA, AAP
