British Police Successfully Identify Car Explosion Suspect At Liverpool Hospital

Illustration of police standing guard at the site of an explosion in front of a hospital in Liverpool. (Source: Liverpool City Council Twitter/@lpoolcouncil)

JAKARTA - British police have identified the suspect behind a taxi explosion outside a hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, with authorities later calling it a terrorist incident.

Police said Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, who died in the blast, took a taxi in the northern English city and asked to be taken to a hospital, about 10 minutes away, as a suspect.

The explosion occurred in the car as it approached the drop-off point in front of Liverpool Women's Hospital. The taxi driver was treated for injuries and allowed to go home after receiving medical treatment.

Four men, arrested by police in connection with the blast, were released from custody, police said late Monday.

Three of them, aged 29, 26, and 21, were arrested on Sunday, and on Monday Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson of Counter-Terrorism Policing Northwest said another man aged 20 had been arrested.

The explosion occurred just before 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, when a Remembrance Day service to commemorate war deaths was held at nearby Liverpool Cathedral. Police are investigating whether the events are related.

Police are searching two places linked to Al Swealmeen and have found important items, Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks said in a statement released by Greater Manchester Police.

"Now that we have released his name, any information the public may have about Al Swealmeen, however small, may be of great help to us," he said.

Jackson said it was not clear why the passengers wanted to go to the hospital or what caused the device's sudden detonation.

Police also said they had found important evidence from an address on Rutland Avenue, adding it was at the center of the investigation. Al Swealmeen had been picked up by taxi from the Rutland Avenue area, according to the BBC.

Earlier, Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson described the taxi driver's actions as heroic. The BBC said he had locked the passenger in the vehicle.

It was David Perry, a quick-thinking taxi driver who was heroically able to prevent more bloodshed, despite his serious injuries. Perry was branded a 'Liverpool hero' after the attack, which left him with shrapnel wounds and damage to his ear, citing the November 15 Mirror.

To note, Britain has raised its national threat level to severe, with Home Secretary Priti Patel saying the blast was the second fatal incident in a month after the stabbing to death of MP David Amess.

"It is important that the public remains alert to the threat of terrorism but not worry," said Patel.