The United Kingdom has increased its terrorism threat level to “severe” on Monday in the aftermath of a suicide bomber exploding a device in a taxi at a Liverpool hospital Sunday, The Hill reports.
According to Greater Manchester Police, a 32-year-old man, identified as Emad Al Swealmeen, entered a taxi in the Rutland Avenue area of Liverpool shortly before 11 a.m. local time and asked the driver to take him to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, which was about 10 minutes away.
Police said that once arriving at the hospital, the man police believe to be Swealmeen, detonated a suicide bomb in the taxi, which was quickly engulfed in flames, killing him.
The driver of the cab was able to escape the explosion and fire and was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital, police said.
There were no other injuries reported at the hospital scene from the incident, according to police.
Subsequent investigation into the incident by the Counter Terrorism North West unit led officers to two different addresses, one on Sutcliffe Street in Kensington area of Liverpool where three men, ages 21,26, and 29 were arrested on terrorism charges, and a second address on Rutland Avenue in Sefton Park.
Police said they found “significant items” at the location and that multiple searches needed to be conducted in the coming days.
“Although, the motivation for this incident is yet to be understood, given all the circumstances, it has been declared a terrorist incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are continuing with the investigation,” police said in the release regarding the attack.
“I think it is important to stress that there is no intelligence to suggest that there is any direct threat to Greater Manchester following yesterday's incident,” Assistant Chief Constable Mabs Hussain said. “We continue to liaise with our colleagues in Counter Terrorism Policing North West, who are leading the investigation, so we are kept fully up to date with the very latest information that is relevant to our region.”
Police identified Swealmeen on Monday and said they believe he was connected to the two addresses.
''Our enquiries are very much ongoing but at this stage we strongly believe that the deceased is 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen. Al Swealmeen is connected to both the Rutland Avenue and Sutcliffe Street addresses where searches are still ongoing,” senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks said in a police press release. “We believe he lived at the Sutcliffe Street address for some time and had recently rented the Rutland Avenue address. Our focus is the Rutland Avenue address where we have continued to recover significant items.”
The United Kingdom raised the terror alert to “substantial” just last month after Parliamentarian David Amess was stabbed to death.
"The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has conducted an independent review on the risk facing members of parliament," British interior minister Priti Patel told parliament following the killing, Reuters reported. "While we do not see any information or intelligence which points to any credible, specific, or imminent threat, I must update the House (of Commons) that the threat level facing members of this house is now deemed to be substantial."
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