British police said they had evacuated homes Sunday near the air base of Fairford in southwest England used by US air forces and arrested five men over suspected explosives offences. British counter-terrorism police are investigating the incident.
British police said on Sunday they had arrested five men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and the army was examining a number of vehicles after security was stepped up at a British air base used by US air forces in southwest England.
Counter-terrorism detectives leading the investigation said police had received a call about three suspicious vehicles that appeared to be travelling towards RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday.
Armed officers arrested five men, who are being held on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.
US President Donald Trump alleged to reporters that the suspects had been "looking to do big damage".
"We had them under view for a long time, and we got them," he said, saying that the suspects had been under investigation by both British and US authorities.
The British government gave authorisation to the US to use RAF Fairford to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Police said a 400-metre cordon was in place around the base as the bomb disposal unit investigated the vans. Local residents in 85 homes in a nearby village were evacuated and armed officers were patrolling the site.
Police said they believed the incident was now contained.
A local farmer told the Daily Telegraph newspaper she had alerted police after seeing the vans and men acting suspiciously as she drove home from a party.
"I saw a group of Middle Eastern-looking young guys running off through the trees. Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered ahead of us as we drove back past," she told the paper.
"Some of them ran into the fields, and some of them turned to run towards the air base ... I mean, you don’t see masked men running around at half one in the morning in the countryside near a secure air base and not have concerns."
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Local councillor Tristan Wilkinson told Reuters there had been a recent security alert at Fairford and surveillance had been stepped up.
"So there was a specific threat about six weeks ago from the Iranians on this base. At the time, there was increased surveillance around the area," he said.
A spokesperson for the US Air Force said they would not discuss specific force protection measures.
"The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow UK-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, civilians, contractors, and their families," the spokesperson said.
"We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families."
Britain said in July its armed forces were ready to protect the country from any attack after Iran's Revolutionary Guards issued a warning not to allow US bombers to fly from Fairford.
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British ministers have also briefed providers of critical infrastructure of the threat posed by Russia, with the government increasingly concerned about possible sabotage operations and cyberattacks. Russia denies mounting hybrid attacks on Western nations.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
