Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing

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Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing
Part of terrorism in the United Kingdom
Liverpool Women's Hospital (9).JPG
Liverpool Women's Hospital general entrance and car park
LocationLiverpool Women's Hospital, Liverpool, England
Coordinates53°23′56″N 2°57′34″W / 53.39889°N 2.95944°W / 53.39889; -2.95944Coordinates: 53°23′56″N 2°57′34″W / 53.39889°N 2.95944°W / 53.39889; -2.95944
Date14 November 2021
c. 10:59 GMT (UTC±0)
Attack type
Bombing
WeaponImprovised explosive device
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured1 (the taxi driver)
PerpetratorEmad Al Swealmeen

On 14 November 2021, a taxi carrying a passenger arrived at the main entrance of Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, England. An improvised explosive device carried by the passenger ignited, killing him and injuring the driver. The police later declared it to be a terrorist incident.

Incident[edit]

On 14 November 2021, at approximately 10:59 am GMT, an explosion occurred inside a taxi as it arrived in front of the main entrance of the Liverpool Women's Hospital in England. The driver left the vehicle seconds later and ran to safety, after which a fire badly burned the car.[1] The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device which was carried by the taxi's passenger, 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen,[2] who was killed in the incident.[3][4][5] The taxi driver was admitted to hospital, with injuries including an ear needing to be sewn back on,[6] but was released the following day.[7] Merseyside Police attended the scene, along with fire and ambulance crews; they were accompanied by the Royal Logistics Corps' Bomb Squad. The hospital was placed under a lockdown, roads were closed and a cordon was in place around the hospital by the evening,[8] and armed police maintained a presence.

Map of Liverpool
Geography of events, including the route of the perpetrator's taxi journey.[9]

The bomber's motivation for the attack was not immediately known. One theory emerged that he was intending to walk to Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and detonate his device as the congregation left.[9] The Independent questioned whether there was a "connection between the timing of the incident and the fact that it occurred on Remembrance Sunday, with the associated minute's silence usually observed at 11 am".[10] The hospital is a short distance from the cathedral, where the remembrance service was taking place attended by thousands of veterans and military personnel with a subsequent parade.[11] On this, the police said one line of enquiry was whether the event was linked to nearby remembrance events.[11]

Investigation[edit]

It was established that the taxi driver picked up the passenger in Rutland Avenue, approximately 10 minutes drive from the hospital. Early reports suggested that on arrival he locked the doors of his vehicle on his passenger before it went up in flames, although a Counterterrorism spokesman noted that officers had not yet spoken to the driver as of Sunday evening.[12]

Police subsequently confirmed that the fire had been caused by the ignition of a home-made explosive device.[13] Merseyside Police armed units raided a property in the Sefton Park area, although the BBC reported that police had not confirmed whether the two incidents were related.[14] Three men aged 29, 26, and 21 were arrested in Liverpool in the early morning of the next day, under the Terrorism Act.[15][8] Police later said the arrests were a direct response to the attack.[11] A fourth man, aged 20, was arrested the next day, 15 November.[16][17][18] A number of houses in the Sefton Park area were evacuated. The Independent noted that this was a "usual precaution... where explosive materials are suspected or found".[11] A controlled explosion was carried out in the middle of Sefton Park, "a few hundred metres" from the house in Rutland Avenue where bomb-making equipment was discovered.[19][20] The four arrested men were released on 15 November, the police saying "We are satisfied with the accounts they have provided and they have been released from police custody".[21]

Perpetrator[edit]

The suspected perpetrator died during the incident.[22] He was identified, a day after the explosion, as 32-year-old Emad al-Swealmeen, who was reported as having changed his name to Enzo Almeni;[23] he was not known to MI5.[24][9] A post-mortem found he died from injuries caused by the explosion and fire.[25] He arrived in the UK in around 2014 and claimed for asylum as a Syrian refugee, which was denied as officials believed him to be Jordanian rather than Syrian; his immigration status at the time of the incident is unknown. Seven years before the incident he was sectioned after trying to kill himself and waving a knife in Liverpool city centre; following this he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2015.[26] Police said that they believed he had lived at the Sutcliffe Street address for some time but had recently started renting a property in Rutland Avenue.[27]

Reports suggested that al-Swealmeen had converted to Christianity solely for asylum purposes, but the Church of England said that there was no evidence that converts' asylum claims are fast-tracked. He had been baptised in 2015 and confirmed in 2017, before losing contact with Liverpool Cathedral the following year; the Church said it had processes in place "for discerning whether someone might be expressing a genuine commitment to faith".[28]

Device[edit]

The explosive device was handmade by the bomber using components and chemicals purchased over several months, often using a false name. How the purchases were made is being investigated. Ball bearings were found to have been used inside the weapon, which would have increased its lethality had it detonated as intended. Police said the partial detonation at the hospital may have been triggered prematurely from movement of the vehicle or during final assembly. They also stated the weapon was different from the bomb used in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.[29]

Response[edit]

The driver was widely praised by members of the public and media following the incident, with some calling him a "hero" for stopping Al Swealmeen from getting inside the hospital by locking the doors of his taxi.[30][31][32] The Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, made a statement,[33][clarification needed] while Prime Minister Boris Johnson congratulated the driver, saying "it does look as though the taxi driver in question did behave with incredible presence of mind and bravery".[12] On 15 November 2021, the police declared the explosion a terrorist incident,[34][17] and the UK terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe.[1][note 1] MI5 joined the investigation on the same day of the incident in a support role for the local police,[12] while COBRA met on the morning of 15 November.[36]

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said that the bombing showed that Britain's asylum system is "dysfunctional" and that a "merry-go-round" of appeals by lawyers was keeping failed asylum seekers in the country.[37]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This increase in alert indicated that further attacks were considered highly likely due to two attacks in a month. The threat level is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which is led by MI5.[4] The previous attack was the killing of David Amess, Conservative MP for Southend West, who was stabbed in a church hall on 15 October 2021.[19][35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion declared a terror incident". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion: Man killed named as Emad Al Swealmeen". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Liverpool hospital taxi explosion: what we know so far". The Guardian. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Threat level raised after Liverpool taxi bomb - follow updates live". Independent. 15 November 2021.
  5. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (15 November 2021). "Liverpool explosion: Police declare terrorist incident and say passenger 'built bomb detonated in taxi'". Independent.
  6. ^ "Terrorist incident declared after bomb detonated outside Liverpool hospital". Independent. 15 November 2021.
  7. ^ Dodd, Vikram; Pidd, Helen (15 November 2021). "Counter-terrorism police arrest three". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Liverpool explosion: Police cordons remain in place after three arrested under Terrorism Act over fatal car blast outside hospital". Sky News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Mendick, Robert; Evans, Martin; Davies, Gareth (15 November 2021). "Liverpool bomber was of Middle Eastern background and not known to MI5 - latest updates". The Telegraph. (subscription required)
  10. ^ Hancock, Sam (15 November 2021). "Liverpool explosion: One dead after car explodes outside hospital". Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "Terrorist incident declared after bomb detonated outside Liverpool hospital". Independent. 15 November 2021.
  12. ^ a b c "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion: Taxi driver David Perry's 'heroic efforts' praised". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ^ Koncienzcy, Rebecca (15 November 2021). "Police confirm they 'know identity' of passenger in taxi blast". Liverpool Echo.
  14. ^ "Liverpool Women's Hospital: One dead in car explosion outside hospital". BBC News. 14 November 2021.
  15. ^ Dodd, Vikram; Pidd, Helen (15 November 2021). "Counter-terrorism police arrest three". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Liverpool hospital explosion: Motivation for car blast not clear - police". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  17. ^ a b Wace, Charlotte; Brown, David; Hamilton, Fiona (15 November 2021). "Terror threat level raised to 'severe' after Liverpool explosion". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ^ Mendick, Robert; Evans, Martin; Davies, Gareth (15 November 2021). "Liverpool bomber named as 32-year-old Emad al-Swealmeen". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ a b Mendick, Robert; Evans, Martin; Davies, Gareth (15 November 2021). "Liverpool bomber was of Middle Eastern background and not known to MI5 - latest updates". The Telegraph.
  20. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (15 November 2021). "Emad al-Swealmeen: Liverpool bomber who died in taxi explosion named". Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. ^ "UPDATE from Counter Terrorism Police North West after Liverpool car explosion". Greater Manchester Police. 15 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Suspected Liverpool suicide bomber named as Emad al Swealmeen, as police plea for information". i. 15 November 2021.
  23. ^ Otte, Jedidajah (16 November 2021). "Emad al-Swealmeen: Liverpool attack suspect reported to be Christian convert". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  24. ^ UPI Staff (17 November 2021). "British police say Liverpool attacker acted alone, built bomb for months". UPI. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Liverpool bomber had been planning attack since April". BBC. 17 November 2021.
  26. ^ Simpson, Duncan; Brown, David; Simpson, John (16 November 2021). "Evangelist couple heartbroken by Liverpool bomber's betrayal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  27. ^ Phillips, Alexa (15 November 2021). "Liverpool explosion: Man killed in terror incident outside hospital named by police". Sky News. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  28. ^ Turner, Lauren (17 November 2021). "Liverpool bomb: Church not aware of converts abusing asylum system". BBC News. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  29. ^ Long, Chris (19 November 2021). "Liverpool bomb: Homemade device used ball bearings as shrapnel, police say". BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Taxi driver involved in terrorist incident at Liverpool hospital hailed a 'hero'". ITV News. 15 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Cabbie hailed a hero for locking would-be terrorist inside burning car". ABC News. 15 November 2021.
  32. ^ Koncienzcy, Rebecca; Abbit, Beth (15 November 2021). "Hero taxi driver who 'stopped attacker and saved disaster' at hospital named". Manchester Evening News.
  33. ^ Davies, Gareth; Evans, Martin (14 November 2021). "Liverpool Women's Hospital: Counter-terror police arrest three men after taxi explosion kills passenger". The Telegraph.
  34. ^ "Liverpool hospital explosion: Motivation for car blast not clear - police". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  35. ^ Brunt, Martin (27 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: Inquest opened and suspended into death of MP". Sky News. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  36. ^ "Liverpool explosion: Wife of taxi driver who ran from terror blast says it's 'utter miracle' he escaped". Sky News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  37. ^ Forrest, Adam (17 November 2021). "Liverpool bombing linked to 'dysfunctional' asylum system, claims Priti Patel". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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