Controlled explosion carried out on second device in Liverpool

Controlled explosion carried out on a second device in Liverpool

A controlled explosion has been carried out in Liverpool this evening, Monday, November 15. Bomb squad specialists detonated the device in Sefton Park, close to the hospital where a suicide bomber blew himself up in a taxi yesterday, Sunday 14.

BBC Radio Merseyside reported that that the detonation was conducted “as part of the ongoing investigation” into the terrorist incident outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital yesterday just before 11am, and that residents “shouldn’t be concerned”.

Following an emergency COBRA meeting at Downing Street today, the UK’s terror threat level was raised to ‘severe’, from ‘substantial’. MailOnline reports that the suspect, according to MI5, was not known to them, but that he had arrived in the UK from the Middle East some years ago. He is believed to have built his device at his home in Liverpool. No link with any terror organisation has yet been confirmed.

Searches of two properties are still ongoing in the city, where it is believed ‘significant items’, including bomb-making ingredients have been discovered. Three men were arrested on Sunday 14 by the police, under S41 of the Terrorism Act. The men, aged 29, 26, and 21, were detained at a terraced house on Sutcliffe Street, Liverpool.

Another 20-year-old man was arrested this morning when he arrived at his home in the Kensington neighbourhood of the city. He has also been charged on suspicion of the same terror-related offence.

Taxi driver, David Perry, has been hailed a hero

David Perry, a local taxi driver, has been hailed as a hero after he spotted the bomber acting suspiciously before the blast. He grabbed the man and locked him inside his cab just before he detonated his device.

Russ Jackson, Assistant Chief Constable of Counter-Terrorism North West, speaking at a press conference this morning said, “It is not clear what the motivation for this incident is. Our enquiries indicate that an improvised explosive device has been manufactured, and our assumption so far is that this was built by the passenger in the taxi”.

He continued, “The reason why he then took it to the Women’s Hospital is unknown, as is the reason for its sudden explosion. We are of course aware that there were Remembrance events just a short distance away from the hospital and that the ignition occurred shortly before 11am. We cannot at this time draw any connection with this but it is a line of inquiry we are pursuing”.

Adding, “Although, the motivation for this incident is yet to be understood, given all the circumstances, it has been declared a terrorist incident and counter-terrorism police are continuing with the investigation. Our enquiries will now continue to seek to understand how the device was built, the motivation for the incident, and to understand if anyone else was involved in it”.

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