Authorities have made the arrests over suspicion of preparing for terror
Three vans were searched by an Army bomb-disposal team, while a 400-metre cordon was imposed around the vehicles and residents of about 85 homes in nearby Whelford were evacuated. Gloucestershire Police said the alert came at about 12.45am, prompting armed officers to respond in the Whelford area. She said she called 999 at about 1.36am after initially trying to contact Ministry of Defence police. She said armed police arrived in the village within about 10 minutes. Read more: 5 held in UK for suspected plot to attack air base used by US British authorities have not publicly established who, if anyone, was behind the suspected plot. Police established a 400-metre cordon around the vehicles and called in the Army’s explosive ordnance disposal unit. Read more: UK police robot targets vans near airbase used by US forces About 85 homes in Whelford were evacuated as a precaution, and residents remained away from their homes on Monday as the investigation continued. Located about 160km west of London, it has a runway capable of handling heavy bombers and has been used by US aircraft during major military operations, including the Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq war. US B-1 and B-52 bombers have operated from Fairford during the campaign. Under Britain’s terrorism laws, suspects can be detained for up to 14 days before they must be charged or released.
Because rAF Fairford has been used by the US Air Force during its military campaign against Iran, the timing is significant. Because the investigation is still underway, uK officials have been more cautious. No motive has been officially confirmed. However, Reuters reported that investigators were giving greatest weight to a possible Iranian link, while also examining Russian sabotage and an Islamist plot. When asked about a possible Iran connection, he indicated that there was one, although British authorities have not publicly confirmed this as the motive. Police have not released the men’s identities, nationalities or details of any alleged target.
A local farmer later told the BBC that she encountered the vans and then saw a group of “hooded and masked men” moving towards nearby fields. “I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had,” the farmer told the BBC. The farmer questioned whether the area around the base was being adequately monitored, but Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said she had only a “partial picture” of the incident. Police said the immediate incident appeared to be contained. US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been under investigation by British and US authorities before their arrest and suggested they had been planning a serious attack on the base. “They were looking to do big damage,” Trump told reporters in Chicago on Sunday. He also said, “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them. Trump said cooperation between the US and Britain had helped lead to the arrests. Streeting declined to speculate about the suspects’ motives, saying authorities would provide information “as and when we can” without compromising the investigation. The base has been the target of anti-war protests since the conflict began, but investigators have not said whether the latest incident is connected to protest activity. US military personnel at Fairford have been placed on heightened vigilance, while the US Embassy in London advised Americans in Britain to “exercise caution”.
The men were initially detained under explosives legislation and were later arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. British counterterrorism officers are now investigating what the men were allegedly planning. The arrests come amid heightened concern in Britain over hostile-state activity and at a particularly sensitive time for RAF Fairford, given its role in US military operations against Iran. Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford in western England early Sunday after police received reports of three suspicious white vans travelling towards the military air base. The men were initially arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and were later held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Police were alerted in the early hours of Sunday after reports of three white vans apparently travelling towards RAF Fairford. Five men were arrested in the Whelford area and were initially held on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act. They were subsequently arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. The investigation comes against a backdrop of repeated British warnings about hostile activity linked to Iran. Britain allowed the US to use bases in the UK for what it described as defensive operations against Iranian missiles and their launch sites. British officials have also accused Iran-linked proxies of involvement in arson and sabotage attempts in the UK and elsewhere, allegations Tehran has denied. The three suspicious vans became the focus of a major security operation after the arrests. A bomb-disposal robot was deployed to examine the vans remotely, with footage showing the machine moving around the vehicles and appearing to inspect one of them. Security was also tightened around the air base, with heavy vehicles used to block access points and armed officers seen around the main entrance. Authorities have not publicly disclosed what, if anything, was found inside the vans, or whether the vehicles contained functioning explosives. Trump hails arrests in UK near US air base over terror suspicion RAF Fairford is a UK-owned military base operated by the US Air Force under a long-standing arrangement dating back to the Cold War. The base has taken on renewed importance during the current Iran conflict. It also hosts the headquarters of the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron. The five suspects remain in custody while counterterrorism officers investigate the circumstances surrounding their arrest, the contents of the vans and any possible links to a wider plot. The investigation will also have to establish whether there was an organised plan, who may have directed it and whether the suspects had access to explosives capable of causing damage. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Iran has previously warned that bases used to launch attacks against its territory could be considered legitimate targets. Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford in western England on Sunday after police received reports of three suspicious vans travelling towards the military air base, which has been used by US bombers during the war against Iran.