RAF Fairford is a key European base used by US forces in military operations against Iran

Five men arrested after residents report suspicious vehicles heading toward the base

Police stand guard on a road leading to RAF Fairford, a US Air Force base in Fairford, England, on Sunday following the incident. [AP]
Police stand guard on a road leading to RAF Fairford, a US Air Force base in Fairford, England, on Sunday following the incident. [AP]

British counterterrorism police have arrested five men and opened an investigation into suspected preparation of a terrorist act after a bomb plot was uncovered near RAF Fairford, a base used by US Air Force bombers.

The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday that counterterrorism investigators are treating Iran's involvement as the leading line of inquiry.

According to the Associated Press, Gloucestershire Police responded to Welford, near the base, shortly after 12:45 a.m. Sunday after residents reported suspicious vehicles appearing to move toward RAF Fairford. Armed officers arrested five men at the scene, and all five remain in custody for questioning.

RAF Fairford is one of the key US Air Force bases in Europe used for military operations against Iran. It hosts the headquarters of the 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron.

Iran is the primary suspect as the state actor behind the alleged plot, the Telegraph reported, though investigators have not ruled out a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist conspiracy.

Police said the investigation is at an early stage and that they are working with partner agencies to establish the full facts. Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Telegraph that the incident appeared to have been an attempted suicide attack using multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.

In July, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that RAF Fairford could be a legitimate target, threatening to strike any base used in attacks against Iran.

Anonymous sources who spoke to the Telegraph said that if Iran is behind the plot, it likely acted more directly rather than following its past practice of using criminal proxies.

The alert level at RAF Fairford was raised to its highest setting, while the threat level at RAF Lakenheath — another British air base hosting US forces — was raised to the second-highest level.

Hundreds of nearby residents were ordered to evacuate, and British Army bomb disposal experts were deployed to examine the vehicles. A cordon remained in place Sunday evening, and some residents were unable to return home overnight.

Photos taken by residents showed five men lying face-down on the ground, shirtless and handcuffed, surrounded by armed officers.

Aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot moving between three white vans. Large black barrels were scattered around the vehicles, and explosives experts said they may have contained very large quantities of explosives such as ammonium nitrate fuel oil, or ANFO.

Investigators are examining materials found in the vans, which are said to be consistent with an attempt to manufacture IEDs.

A female farmer who lives nearby told the Telegraph she was driving home in the early hours of Sunday when she found the vans blocking the road, apparently unoccupied. As she turned to leave, she saw young men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin fleeing into the trees. "I thought, 'What on earth are they doing?'" she said.

She said some of the men were wearing masks or balaclavas. They appeared to have just arrived at the scene, she added. "I'm glad we spotted them," she said.


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