Liverpool bomber's final journey captured on CCTV

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Al-Swealmeen, 32, was the only fatality after a home-made bomb exploded in the back of a Delta taxi outside the specialist maternity hospital just before 11am on Sunday – Remembrance Sunday. The driver, David Perry, leapt from the vehicle seconds after the blast before it was incinerated by flames.

Now CCTV has emerged showing the black taxi vehicle being driven along a busy street in Toxteth, Liverpool just minutes before the attack. 

It was recorded by cameras belonging to The Green Mountain Food Store.

Naz Al-Asadi, the 27-year-old manager of the business, told Liverpool Echo: “The police came in around 12pm yesterday, they said to me can we check the CCTV.

“I said yes, we should work together as this is something not good at all, this is very, very bad.

“They knew the time and they took a copy.

“It is very horrible, very very bad. I just want to know what was going on with this guy, it is not normal.”

Counter-terrorism police are ploughing on with a fast-moving investigation and this morning announced they believed Iraq-born Al-Swealmeen had been planning the attack since April, when he moved into a nearby address.

Although they remain open-minded, officers say they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the bombing.

Police have visited other shops in Toxteth to gather further information.

One young man, working in a phone repair store in the area, said: “I have no words to say about this guy.

“We feel it paints a bad picture for us as Muslims, although he converted to Christianity. It is nothing to do with the Muslim people.

“I have heard about people that I know, women with the hijab, saying things to them about the situation.”

The motive behind the attack has not been confirmed by counter-terror police so far.

Al-Swealmeen had accessed mental health services since his arrival in the UK in 2014, but Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust said he was not a service user at the time of his death.

According to friends, he was sectioned in 2015 after being prosecuted for possessing a knife in the city.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: “The investigation into the terrorist incident at Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday 14 November continues.

“The taxi in which the device exploded has now been removed and today line searches by specialist officers will take place at the Hospital which could go into tomorrow.

“The post mortem on the deceased has taken place and the cause of death has been described as injuries sustained from the fire and explosion.

“A complex picture is emerging over the purchases of the component parts of the device, we know that Al Swealmeen rented the property from April this year and we believe relevant purchases have been made at least since that time.

“We have now traced a next of kin for Al Swealmeen who has informed us that he was born in Iraq.”

He added: “Our enquiries have found that Al Swealmeen has had episodes of mental illness, this will form part of the investigation and will take some time to fully understand.

“There is much comment in the media about Al Swealmeen and it is clear that he was known to many people.

“We continue to appeal for people who knew him, especially those who associated with him this year as we try and piece together the events leading up to this incident and the reasons for it.

“At this time we are not finding any link to others in the Merseyside area of concern but this remains a fast moving investigation and as more becomes known we cannot rule out action against others.”

Source: Read Full Article