British anti-terror police are questioning three men in connection with the explosion in a taxi in Liverpool on Sunday, which according to the police was a failed terrorist attack.
–
One man who was a passenger in the taxi lost his life in the explosion, which took place outside the Women’s Hospital in the center of Liverpool on Sunday.
The blast occurred just before 11 a.m. local time, shortly before the British held a two-minute silence in connection with Remembrance Day commemorating the country’s fallen soldiers.
Russ Jackson, who heads the police’s anti-terrorism unit in the area, mentions according to BBC the explosion as “an act of terrorism”, caused by an explosive charge “built by the passenger”.
Three men aged 21, 26 and 29 have been arrested and questioned on Monday. The British security service MI5 is assisting the police in the investigation.
British police say that a taxi must have stopped at Liverpool Women’s hospital around 10.59 on Sunday, before it exploded shortly afterwards.
Hailed as a hero
Taxi driver David Perry is hailed by Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson, who says he probably averted the loss of many lives.
The driver locked the doors of the car just before the explosion and thus probably prevented the passenger from going in and out of the hospital.
– The taxi driver heroically managed to prevent what could have been a terrible disaster. We owe him a thank you, Anderson says BBC.
Perry himself was injured in the blast, but according to Anderson, he did not receive life-threatening injuries.
Not identified
The passenger has not yet been formally identified, and it is not known what connection there may be between the person in question and the three men who were questioned on Monday.
The three were arrested in the Kensington area of Liverpool on Sunday night, but their identities are not known either.
According to people in the neighborhood, the men moved into an apartment in the area a few months ago.
Failed terrorist act
– This seems like a terrorist act, or a failed terrorist act, says BBC security expert Frank Gardner.
According to police and friends of the driver, the passenger first asked to be driven to the cathedral in Liverpool, where a memorial service was to be held in connection with Remembrance Sunday. It writes The Guardian.
However, the roads in the area were closed in connection with the marking, and the taxi therefore ended up at the hospital located near the cathedral.
Carl Bessant, who had just become a father, says that he and his partner were in the hospital when they suddenly heard a bang.
– My partner was really upset, Bessant says BBC.
– We saw the car and that someone got out of it screaming. We also saw that there was someone left in the car, he says.
The police state that it has not been clarified whether the explosion was in fact terror.
–
