UK Counter Terrorism Police Name Asylum-Seeker From Middle East as Suspect in Liverpool Terror Blast
06:46 GMT 16.11.2021 (Updated: 15:16 GMT 28.05.2023)
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After the UK Government held a Cobra meeting on Monday, 15 November, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that the official terrorism threat level in the country was elevated from “substantial” to “severe” following Sunday’s incident in Liverpool when a passenger in a taxi was killed by a bomb he was carrying.
UK counter terrorism police have named Emad al-Swealmeen, a Middle Eastern asylum seeker with possibly mental health issues, as the suspected terrorist who blew himself up outside Liverpool Women’s hospital on Sunday, reported Sky News.
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks, from Counter Terrorism Police North West, was cited as saying:
"Our enquiries are very much ongoing but at this stage we strongly believe that the deceased is 32-year-old Emad al Swealmeen."
According to Counter Terrorism Policing North West, al Swealmeen, who had been residing at a house in Sutcliffe Street, had recently rented a property in Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park. Searches have been underway at both addresses.
"Our focus is the Rutland Avenue address where we have continued to recover significant items," said DCI Meeks.
The police have been appealing to the public for any information about the incident, declared a terrorist attack, after releasing the suspect’s name. Official sources previously confirmed to the PA news agency the suspect was not previously known to the security services.
Rejected Asylum-Seeker
Al-Swealmeen is believed to have converted to Christianity after moving to the UK from the Middle East, according to the Daily Mail. The man was reportedly briefly offered refuge by Christian volunteers Malcolm and Elizabeth Hitchcott in Liverpool.
“He first came to the cathedral in August 2015 and wanted to convert to Christianity. He took an Alpha course, which explains the Christian faith, and completed it in November of that year. That enabled him to come to an informed decision and he changed from Islam to Christianity and was confirmed as a Christian by at least March 2017, just before he came to live with us. He was destitute at that time and we took him in,” Hitchcott was cited by the outlet as saying.
The retired senior British army officer’s Facebook profile is believed to show a picture of the suspect posing alongside the couple several years earlier. Another picture showed al-Swealmeen during a service at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.
"Liverpool terrorist Emad Al Swealmeen built bomb packed with ball bearings after asylum claims repeatedly...."
— 🔴 Unwoke 🔴News 🔴 LIVERPOOL LATEST (@TheUnwoke) November 16, 2021
WOKE ALERT🔴 Below, Hospital bomber concerts to Christianity, presumably to help his asylum claim pic.twitter.com/NjGCNvGPrJ
Hitchcott was cited by the publication as saying that al-Swealmeen had changed his name on his asylum application to Enzo Almeni, after Italian car racing legend Enzo Ferrari, to sound more Western. The original claim for asylum failed in 2014 as officials believed the man was Jordanian and not Syrian, as he stated, according to reports.
According to Hitchcott, "Almeni" had been arrested for possession of a "large knife" after the rejection of his asylum claim, resulting in him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act and hospitalised for a number of months.
The shocked couple described the suspect in the blast as a "very quiet fellow", and said that they had never witnessed "any suggestion of anything amiss'.
Oh so here he is Emad Al Swealmeen born to an Iraqi mother - was refused asylum in 2014 in UK - Emad was sectioned due to a mental health incident - waving a knife at people threatening to jump off overpasses - " Clues all there ignored - pic.twitter.com/fer4EdnFJw
— TJ (@jimmy_1975) November 15, 2021
As the suspect had not been granted leave to remain in the UK permanently, a source was cited by The Sun as saying:
“One of the issues being looked at is whether this unresolved grievance pushed him over the edge and prompted him to carry out the attack.”
Liverpool Terror Blast
UK counter terrorism officers believe that the suspect had brought a homemade bomb with him into a taxi and asked to be taken to the hospital shortly before 11am on Sunday. His motivation is not yet clear. Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, which was the site of a Remembrance Day service attended by military personnel, veterans, and civic dignitaries, is less than a mile from the hospital. Some initial reports suggested it might have been the original target, but traffic and road closures had intervened.
“It is not clear what the motivation for this incident is.”
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 15, 2021
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson says the investigation into the Liverpool explosion “has been declared a terrorist incident”.
Get the latest on this story: https://t.co/E8pimU88VH pic.twitter.com/pwgBkKPPEZ
The man was picked up in the Rutland Avenue area of the city by cab driver David Perry. As the car reached the hospital's passenger drop-off point, it exploded. CCTV footage shows the driver of the cab, Perry, stumbling out and helped by a man who ran to his assistance.
Footage of todays terrorist bomb blast in Liverpool . Taxi driver hailed as a hero ✊🏼🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/QbpB6xHMLE
— cabbiesdokili (@cabbiesdokili1) November 15, 2021
Perry was treated in hospital for sustained injuries and has since been discharged. According to Russ Jackson, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, he had spoken to "shaken and injured" Perry but was yet to receive his full account of what happened.
Jackson added he could not confirm reports that Perry had locked the doors of the taxi before the explosion – a fact that has led many to praise the Liverpool local as a “hero”. Four men were arrested in relation to the explosion, but have since been released from custody following interview, stated Greater Manchester Police said.
"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,” said Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson.
In the wake of the incident, the UK's terror threat level was raised from "substantial" to "severe", which signifies that an attack is judged to be "highly likely".
Forensic police officers walk towards the scene of a car blast outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, in Liverpool, Britain, November 15, 2021
© REUTERS / PHIL NOBLE
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking at a news conference at Downing Street, said the explosion in Liverpool was a "stark reminder" to remain vigilant:
"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."
