[BBC] Three men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act after a man was killed in a car explosion outside Liverpool Women's Hospital.A taxi carrying one passenger pulled up just before 11:00 GMT - as a national two minutes' silence for Remembrance Sunday was due to begin - and exploded.
The passenger was declared dead at the scene and is yet to be formally identified.
The male driver was injured and is in hospital in a stable condition.
Detectives from Counter Terrorism Police North West said three men - aged 29, 26 and 21 - were detained in the Kensington area of the city.
They said they were continuing to keep an open mind about the cause of the blast and were working with Merseyside Police as the investigation continued "at pace". The security service, MI5, is also assisting.
Armed officers have carried out raids on properties in Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park, and Boaler Street in Kensington.
Specialist officers remain outside the property in Rutland Avenue, in an operation police say is linked to the explosion. A large cordon is in place and a number of residents have been evacuated.
Police negotiators are on the scene and a fire crew is on standby.
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
- Taxi driver, named locally as David Perry, apparently locked suicide bomber in his car after seeing explosives
- Three men were later arrested as part of a terror probe after a taxi pulled up and then exploded in Liverpool
- One person died, one injured in explosion reported at 10:59am, seconds before 11am Remembrance silence
- Armed police officers swarmed Boaler Street in Kensington, Liverpool where they arrested the three suspects
- Armed police also sealed off Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park in a raid thought to be part of the terror probe
A close friend of Mr Perry's told MailOnline the family believe the original target was the Remembrance service: 'The passenger asked David to go to the cathedral so we believe that was the intended target. But they got stuck in heavy traffic so the passenger asked to go to the hospital instead.'
Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested Mr Perry averted disaster by locking his passenger inside. Stephen Thomas said online: 'The taxi driver is my mate, and he spotted the passenger acting suspicious. He's in hospital, luckily he escaped just before but he did suffer some injuries.'
Kev Cuthbertson also wrote on Facebook: 'It's my mate who got blown up. He's in a bad, bad way. He's a fellow driver on delta. He's had his ear sewn back on, got burns and shrapnel wounds and other pretty serious injuries. He is a hero. When he noticed the bomb, he locked the scumbag in the car. But took the brunt of the blast.'
Armed police late on Sunday arrested three men, aged 29, 26 and 21, in Sutcliffe Street, off Boaler Street, in the Kensington area of Liverpool as part of a terror probe into the incident. Detectives and Army bomb disposal experts are investigating whether the blast was triggered by a suicide bomber. The timing of the incident, at 10.59am on Poppy Day, is being examined.
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