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UK police identify Liverpool blast suspect
Police in the UK have identified the suspect behind an explosion which occurred outside a hospital in Liverpool on Monday.Authorities say 32-year-old Emad al-Swealmeen, who was killed in the blast, boarded a taxi and asked to be driven to the location. The blast then took place within the taxi as it approached the drop-off point outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital.The taxi driver was injured in the explosion but was released after receiving medical attention.Police later declared the event as a terrorist incident, and the country raised its national threat level from substantial to severe.Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Monday, said the explosion was a reminder for the public to be vigilant.“But what yesterday showed above all is that the British people will never be cowed by terrorism, we will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts of violence, and our freedoms and our way of life will always prevail.”In the meantime, four men in their twenties, who were arrested in connection with the explosion, were released on Monday. Police have also said they are searching two places linked to the suspect and have recovered significant items.The explosion occurred just before 11 AM on Sunday, when a Remembrance Day service to commemorate war dead was being held at nearby Liverpool Cathedral. Authorities are investigating whether the events are connected.However it marks the second fatal incident in one month, after lawmaker David Amess was fatally stabbed in October in the county of Essex.
