The explosion in a taxi in Liverpool (northern England) on Sunday was caused by a homemade bomb that could have caused "
serious injury or death
" if it had detonated under other circumstances, said Friday. the police. Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, of Iraqi descent, exploded as a passenger in a taxi outside a women's hospital during commemorations for war victims. The police consider as it is a terrorist act, which killed the suspect and injured the taxi driver, even if according to the British media, no ideological motive was for the instant identified.
Read alsoThe Liverpool attack prepared for "at least" seven months, according to the police
Russ Jackson, the region's counterterrorism police chief, said on Friday that the bomb was made using "
homemade explosives
" and that "
metal balls were attached to it, which would have acted as a shrapnel
" .
"
If it had detonated under different circumstances, we believe it would have caused serious injury or death,
" he added in a statement.
He said the explosive device was "
different
" from the one used in the attack on a concert hall in Manchester in 2017.
Read also Liverpool explosion: the United Kingdom raises the level of the terrorist threat
The police are still trying to understand the circumstances of the explosion, and do not rule out the possibility of an involuntary trigger, linked for example to the movements of the taxi.
On Wednesday, she revealed that Emad Al Swealmeen had prepared his attack "
at least
" since he had rented accommodation in April.
But determining how the components used to make the craft were purchased is "
complicated
", according to Russ Jackson, because "
the purchases took place over several months and Al Swealmeen used many names
."
