UK says Liverpool taxi blast was a bomb, raises threat level

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government has increased the terror level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The decision follows a taxi explosion in Liverpool on Sunday that killed a man. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the terror threat level had been raised because there had been two attacks in a month.

British police say the explosion in a taxi outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital is being treated as a terrorist incident, but the motive remains unclear.

Russ Jackson, the head of Counterterrorism Policing in northwest England, said the blast involved an improvised explosive device. The male passenger in the taxi died in the explosion, and the taxi driver was injured.

The driver has been hailed as a hero by the mayor of Liverpool.