Police have named the man suspected of blowing himself up in a taxi in Liverpool yesterday
The senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks said,
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.
“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
“We continue to appeal for any information about this incident and now that we have released his name any information that the public may have about Al Swealmeen no matter how small may be of great assistance to us.”
Earlier Police carried out a controlled explosion as a precaution at Sefton Park in Liverpool as part of the on-going investigation.
There is believed to be no wider risk to the public and the investigation continues, police say
The four people who were arrested after a car exploded outside a hospital in Liverpool have been released without charge
Police have declared it a terrorist incident. The UK’s terrorism threat level has been raised to 4, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.
A cabbie who was driving the car that exploded has been hailed a hero. Named locally as David Perry, he escaped serious injury and has been released from hospital.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has praised his “presence of mind and bravery”.
Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, said in a statement released last night
“Following interviews with the arrested men, we are satisfied with the accounts they have provided and they have been released from police custody.
“The investigation continues to move at a fast pace with investigative teams working throughout the night.
“We have made significant progress since Sunday morning and have a much greater understanding of the component parts of the device, how they were obtained and how the parts are likely to have been assembled. We have also recovered important evidence from the address at Rutland Avenue which is becoming central to the investigation.
“There is a considerable way to go to understand how this incident was planned, prepared for and how it happened. We are gaining a better understanding by the hour but it is likely to be some time, perhaps many weeks until we are confident on our understanding of what has taken place.
“In the meantime, we have considerable resources and staff deployed to understand how this device was built and who if anyone else was involved. If the evidence takes us to the involvement of others, further arrests will quickly take place.”
