Wikipedia

Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing

suspected terrorism incident

On 14 November 2021, a taxi with a passenger came to the main entrance of Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, England. An improvised explosive device that the passenger was carrying exploded, killing him and injuring the driver. The police later said it was a terrorist attack. The attacker was refused asylum in 2014 and lost appeal in 2015. He lived in England until his attack.[1]

Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing
Part of terrorism in the United Kingdom
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; -2.95944
Date14 November 2021
c. 10:59 GMT (UTC±0)
Attack type
Bombing
WeaponImprovised explosive device
Deaths1 (the bomb carrier)
Injured
1

Incident

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On 14 November 2021, an explosion happened inside a taxi as it went in front of the main entrance of the Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, England. The driver left the taxi seconds later and ran away. A fire badly burned the car after that.[2] The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device which was carried by the taxi's passenger.[3] The passenger died in the attack.[4][5][6] The taxi driver was admitted to the hospital, with injuries including an ear needing to be put back on,[7] but was released the next day.[8] Merseyside Police were at the scene, along with fire and ambulance crews. The Royal Logistic Corps' Bomb Squad was also there. The hospital was put under a lockdown, roads were closed and a cordon was in place around the hospital by the evening.[9] Armed police stayed at the hospital during this.

 
Geography of events, including the route of the taxi journey.[10]

The passenger's motivation for carrying the device was not known at first. One theory was that he wanted to walk to Liverpool Cathedral and detonate his device as the congregation left.[10] The hospital is not very far away from the cathedral, where the remembrance service was happening. The service was attended by thousands of veterans and military personnel with a parade happening after.[7]

Investigation

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The taxi driver picked up the passenger in Rutland Avenue, which is about 10 minutes away from the hospital. Early reports suggested that when they arrived he locked the doors of his taxi while his passenger was inside before it went up in flames, although a Counterterrorism spokesman said that officers had not yet talked to the driver as of Sunday evening.[11]

Police later confirmed that the fire had been caused by the ignition of a home-made explosive device.[12] 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.[13] Three men aged 29, 26, and 21 were arrested in Liverpool in the early morning of the next day. They were arrested under the Terrorism Act.[9][14] Police later said the arrests were a direct response to the attack.[7] A fourth man, aged 20, was arrested the next day.[15][16][17] The arrest of the fourth man turned into a siege at the property he was in, and police deployed negotiators.[18] This arrest was supported by United Kingdom Special Forces.[19] Several houses in the Sefton Park area were evacuated.[7] A controlled explosion was carried out in the middle of Sefton Park, "a few hundred metres" from the house in Rutland Avenue where equipment for making bombs was found.[20][21] The four arrested men were released on 15 November.[22]

Perpetrator

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The person who people thought was the perpetrator died during the attack.[23] He was identified the next day as Emad al-Swealmeen. He apparently changed his name to Enzo Almeni.[24] He was not known to MI5.[10][25] A post-mortem found he died from injuries caused by the explosion and fire.[26] He came to the UK around 2014 and claimed for asylum as a Syrian refugee. He was denied asylum because officials thought he was Jordanian and not Syrian. Seven years before the incident he was sectioned after trying to kill himself and waving a knife in Liverpool city centre. After that, he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2015.[27] He had served time in a Middle East prison for serious assault.[28] 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, where the bomb was made.[29][30]

Reports suggested that al-Swealmeen had converted to Christianity just to get asylum, but the Church of England said that there was no evidence that converts' asylum claims are faster. He had been baptised in 2015 and confirmed in 2017, before losing contact with Liverpool Cathedral the following year.[31] It was later revealed by investigators that al-Swealmeen had reverted to Islam months before the attack.[32][33] A coroner determined that the bomb was made to kill someone but it was unclear if the device was supposed to detonate when it did.[30]

Response

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The taxi driver was praised by a lot of people after the incident, with some people calling him a "hero" because he stopped al-Swealmeen from getting inside the hospital by locking the doors of his taxi.[34][35][36] Prime Minister Boris Johnson also praised the driver.[11] On 15 November 2021, the police said that the explosion was a terrorist incident,[16][37] and the UK terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe.[2][note 1] MI5 joined the investigation to support the local police,[11] and COBRA met on the morning of 15 November.[39]

Notes

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  1. ↑ The threat level being raised meant that more attacks were considered very likely because there were two attacks in a month. The threat level is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which is led by MI5.[5] The other attack that month was the murder of David Amess, Conservative MP for Southend West. He was stabbed in a church hall on 15 October 2021.[20][38]

References

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  1. ↑ "Liverpool bomber had been planning attack since April". BBC. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023. Al Swealmeen was first refused asylum in 2014 and also lost further appeals in 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Horsburgh, Lynette (15 November 2021). "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion declared a terror incident". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  3. ↑ Jagger, Samantha (15 November 2021). "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion: Man killed named as Emad Al Swealmeen". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Lock, Samantha; Weaver, Matthew (15 November 2021). "Liverpool hospital taxi explosion: what we know so far". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Batchelor, Tom (15 November 2021). "Liverpool bomb attack: Army explosives team at home linked to suspect, as taxi driver interviewed". Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (15 November 2021). "Liverpool explosion: Police declare terrorist incident and say passenger 'built bomb detonated in taxi'". Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Dearden, Lizzie (15 November 2021). "Terrorist incident declared after bomb detonated outside Liverpool hospital". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Dodd, Vikram; Pidd, Helen (15 November 2021). "Counter-terrorism police arrest three". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Liverpool explosion: Police cordons remain in place after three arrested under Terrorism Act over fatal car blast outside hospital". Sky News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 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. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Liverpool Women's Hospital explosion: Taxi driver David Perry's 'heroic efforts' praised". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  12. ↑ Koncienzcy, Rebecca (15 November 2021). "Police confirm they 'know identity' of passenger in taxi blast". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Liverpool Women's Hospital: One dead in car explosion outside hospital". BBC News. 14 November 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Dodd, Vikram; Pidd, Helen (15 November 2021). "Counter-terrorism police arrest three". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Liverpool hospital explosion: Motivation for car blast not clear - police". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Wace, Charlotte; Brown, David; Hamilton, Fiona (15 November 2021). "Terror threat level raised to 'severe' after Liverpool explosion". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  17. ↑ Mendick, Robert; Evans, Martin; Davies, Gareth (15 November 2021). "Liverpool bomber named as 32-year-old Emad al-Swealmeen". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ↑ Paz, Sue; Faulkner, Doug (2021-11-14). "Liverpool explosion: Three arrested under Terrorism Act after car blast at hospital". BBC News. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  19. ↑ Hughes, Chris; McIntyre, Alex (20 November 2021). "SAS 'deployed' in North West anti-terror operation". CheshireLive. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 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. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (15 November 2021). "Emad al-Swealmeen: Liverpool bomber who died in taxi explosion named". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  22. ↑ "UPDATE from Counter Terrorism Police North West after Liverpool car explosion". Greater Manchester Police. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  23. ↑ Duffy, Nick (15 November 2021). "Suspected Liverpool suicide bomber named as Emad al Swealmeen, as police plea for information". i (newspaper). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  24. ↑ Otte, Jedidajah (16 November 2021). "Emad al-Swealmeen: Liverpool attack suspect reported to be Christian convert". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "British police say Liverpool attacker acted alone, built bomb for months". UPI. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "Liverpool bomber had been planning attack since April". BBC News. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  27. ↑ Simpson, Duncan; Brown, David; Simpson, John (16 November 2021). "Evangelist couple heartbroken by Liverpool bomber's betrayal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  28. ↑ Simpson, John (2021-12-30). "Liverpool hospital bomber Emad Al Swealmeen may have faked conversion, inquest told". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  29. ↑ Phillips, Alexa (15 November 2021). "Liverpool explosion: Man killed in terror incident outside hospital named by police". Sky News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Liverpool bomber made device with murderous intent, coroner says". BBC News. 2021-12-30. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  31. ↑ Turner, Lauren (17 November 2021). "Liverpool bomb: Church not aware of converts abusing asylum system". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  32. ↑ Gardham, Duncan; Hamilton, Fiona; Wace, Charlotte (20 November 2021). "Liverpool bomber 'reverted to Islam' in months before attack". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  33. ↑ Tubb, Gerard (17 November 2021). "Liverpool terror attack: Man who gave a home to bomber 'knew Bible meetings were targeted by fake Muslim converts'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  34. ↑ "Taxi driver involved in terrorist incident at Liverpool hospital hailed a 'hero'". ITV News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  35. ↑ Hawke, Jack (15 November 2021). "Cabbie hailed a hero for locking would-be terrorist inside burning car". ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  36. ↑ Koncienzcy, Rebecca; Abbit, Beth (15 November 2021). "Hero taxi driver who 'stopped attacker and saved disaster' at hospital named". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  37. ↑ "Liverpool hospital explosion: Motivation for car blast not clear - police". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  38. ↑ Brunt, Martin (27 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: Inquest opened and suspended into death of MP". Sky News. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  39. ↑ "Liverpool explosion: Wife of taxi driver who ran from terror blast says it's 'utter miracle' he escaped". Sky News. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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