Investigations Underway In To Liverpool Terror Attack

An explosion which occurred outside Liverpool Women's Hospital on Remembrance Sunday has been declared a terrorist incident by Counter Terrorism Policing North West. A taxi exploded and burst in to flames shortly before 11am at the drop off zone near the entrance to the hospital. The passenger was killed in the blast but the driver escaped with injuries caused by the explosion.

The cabbie, named locally as David Perry, was declared a hero by Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson for locking the suspect inside the vehicle.

Four men have since been arrested in the city following thorough investigations in to what happened.

What seems to have happened is the passenger inside the vehicle created an improvised explosive device which subsequently went off and caused the explosion. This occurred just before the country was about to mark Remembrance Sunday by holding a period of silence to remember all those who lost their lives in World War One.

It is not yet clear what the man's motive was for causing such a blast but investigations are ongoing to try and find out.

The incident occurred just a short distance away from where commemorations were being marked to remember those who had died in the war. The four people who were arrested were subsequently released after further investigations. They were all based in the area surrounding the hospital.

The passenger who was in the taxi and died has now been named as Emad Al Swealmeen. It is understood the 32-year-old suspect was an asylum seeker who converted to Christianity in 2017. It is thought that he built the device from different parts he had with him in the back of the taxi before it went off. He specifically requested the driver to take him to that particular hospital. The driver noticed something suspicious was going on in the back of the taxi so after arriving at the hospital, he jumped out of the vehicle and locked the doors meaning that the passenger could not escape.

Mr Perry escaped from the incident with only minor injuries where as the passenger who had built the bomb died.

Investigations are ongoing in to the man's motive for causing the explosion but people who knew him from the past said they were shocked because of what happened

In an update on Monday evening, Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said the property at Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park, in the south-east of the city, was "becoming central to the investigation".

This was the address where Al Swealmeen was picked up by the taxi before being driven to the maternity hospital.

The taxi's driver, David Perry, escaped before his car caught fire and has since been discharged from hospital.

ACC Jackson said: "We have made significant progress since Sunday morning and have a much greater understanding of the component parts of the device, how they were obtained and how the parts are likely to have been assembled."

Security minister Damian Hinds said, "There's always the possibility that further links can be detected. People sometimes talk about lone wolves and so on - people are rarely totally alone because they talk to others and so on. We have to leave time and space for the police to do their investigation."

As a result of the attack, the UK's terror threat level has been raised from substantial to severe meaning an attack is highly likely. People are being warned to be on their guard at all times and to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity they may come across.

A statement from Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“Following yesterday’s shocking incident in Liverpool, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has raised the UK Threat Level to SEVERE.

It is important that the public remains alert to the threat from terrorism but not alarmed. I urge anyone with information or who suspects any suspicious activity to report it to the police.”