Poppy Day bomber Emad Al Swealmeen might have set off his explosive-filled ball bearing accidentally when he lost control of the taxi to take him to his destination.
Police from counterterrorism confirmed today that the Remembrance Day weapon used by the 32 year-old would have caused serious injury or death if it went off outside.
However, the bomber was only killed when it detonated in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
The police revealed today that Al Swealmeen, a devious criminal, purchased the components of his bomb separately and used several fake names to hide flagging systems.
A connection has been ruled out to any atrocity committed in Manchester Arena by Salman Abedi.
After speaking to Al Swealmeen last night, counter-terror police are close to completing a complete picture of Al Swealmeen’s current state of mind.
Russ Jackson Assistant Chief Constable, Head of Counter Terrorism Police North West stated: “We continue to make substantial progress in relation to CT incident at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
The brother of Al Swealmeen was interviewed by officers yesterday. We gained valuable insight and knowledge about his childhood and recent mental state. Thank you to the members of public who were able to contact us and knew Al Swealmeen.
Emad Al-Swealmeen, 32, pictured, loaded a homemade explosive device with nails and bolts but it failed to fully detonate when it went off in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital just before 11am on Sunday
Accident: After the bomb explodes, the taxi is set ablaze.
According to the counter-terror police, Perry stopped his taxi and foiled the attack.
“Although we still have much to learn about the device and its origins, there has been a lot of progress in the last five days.
“It was created using homemade explosive. It had ball bearings attached, which would have served as shrapnel. We believe that it could have inflicted serious injury or even death if it had been detonated under different conditions.
“We don’t know why or how the device went off, but it doesn’t mean that it was not intentional. It is possible the vehicle moving or stopping could have caused it to explode.
“We have spent considerable time trying to figure out how the purchase of the materials for this device was made. The complicated nature of the purchase process has meant that it took many months to complete and Al Swealmeen may have used several aliases. However, we are certain that over time, we will have a complete picture of the purchases made as well as how they were done. We also know if any other people involved in these transactions or what Al Swealmeen was doing.
“We found no link between this incident, the horrible events in Manchester in May 2017,” said a spokesperson. This device also differed from that used in attack on Manchester Arena.
“The investigation is moving at a fast pace, and will continue to the weekend and into the following weeks.
An aerial view shows the car that was damaged being taken away by the forensic officers following the explosion at Liverpool Women’s Hospital Remembrance Day
Emad Al Swealmeen (left), was baptised at the Anglican Cathedral in 2017, and then confirmed by Malcolm Hitchcott (right). He went on to become a pizza chef after making numerous asylum appeals.
Following being “jolted”, his homemade bomb went off as he approached the hospital. Experts suggest it may have been either a Mother of Satan device made poorly or an explosive device mixed with fireworks.
Experts think that if the bomb had worked as it was intended, the metal fragments could have been scattered in every direction, shredding cars and cutting down pedestrians.
The failure of the test will likely be revealed by forensic testing.
Perry appears to have been spared serious injuries by the blast that engulfed the rear seat prior to it bursting into flames.
Early reports of Perry’s courage suggested that he stopped the taxi when he saw parts of the passenger’s device.
According to the new theory by police, the driver foiled the plot when he stopped the taxi.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Al Swealmeen (32), had spent many months searching the Internet for small amounts of chemicals and metal parts to avoid detection.
An online shopping package was said to be constantly delivered to the apartment of this failed asylum seeker who came from Iraq.
Agents found traces chemicals in the bomb factory, which indicates that he had experimented with different explosives.
One of the recipes he is understood to have followed was for hexamethylene triperoxide diamine – the same material used by the July 7 2005 London bombers.
Key ingredients for terror attacks like the Manchester Arena bombing or the Parsons Green Tube explosion were purchased on Amazon.
Yesterday, Al Swealmeen was informed by the company that they were checking for any purchases of chemicals like hydrogen peroxide.
Amazon spokesmen stated that the company only offers products compliant with UK laws. We also work closely with law enforcement and police agencies.
Officers have not been able to reach the computers of the bomber so the motive remains a mystery.
Al Swealmeen was a convert to Christianity after attending services in Fazakerley, Liverpool Cathedral. However, his leaders at the local church said that he left sight after a while.
There were reports yesterday that he may have been a frequent attendee at a mosque in his hometown.
Official figures show that Far-Right extremism is now the primary reason people are referred to Prevent by the Government for anti-radicalisation programmes.
This was responsible for 1,229 referrals. That’s about 25% of the 4,915 that were made between April 2020 and March 2019.
There were 1,064 about Islamism – 22 per cent. The majority of those who were not able to identify their ideology or are unsure about it, had mixed beliefs.
Prevent saw a 22% drop in referrals, which was the first time since 2016 records were started. Under-20s account for 48 per cent of cases – and men for 88 per cent.