Liverpool bomber was of Middle Eastern background and not known to MI5 – latest updates

From the Telegraph. As suspected, both from the MO, and anecdotal comments (often quickly deleted) on  local Liverpool  social media and fora.

The Remembrance Sunday terrorist originated from the Middle East but was not known to the security services, The Telegraph can disclose.

The bomber, who died when his Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off, had ordered a taxi to take him to Liverpool Women’s Hospital but well-placed sources stressed his motivation remained unclear as was his intended target.

One possible theory is the bomber was intending to walk towards Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral to detonate the device as the congregation left following a Remembrance Day service.

The Telegraph understands that counter-terorism police and MI5 are concerned that the attack took place so shortly after the fatal stabbing of David Amess, the Conservative MP.

The two incidents are not linked but it raises fears that terror plotters are now planning to carry out attacks now that the UK has come out of a Covid-19 lockdown.

The motive for the latest attack is unclear but the fact the dead suspect came from the Middle East will increase the likelihood that it was Islamist inspired.

It is also unclear if the terrorist had come recently to the UK or even been born here but from a Middle East background.

He was not on any MI5 watchlist, meaning he was not subject to a current ongoing investigation or had been investigated in the past.

That makes it harder for intelligence services to thwart any plot but will also raise the possibility he came to the UK recently.

12:40 Pictured: Arrest this morning 

Here is the moment a man was arrested in Liverpool this morning in connection with the hospital bombing.