Five Arrested Near RAF Fairford After Vans Head Toward U.S. Bomber Base; Trump Says Plotters Sought “Big Damage”

British counterterrorism police said Sunday they are leading an investigation after five men were arrested near RAF Fairford, a Gloucestershire air base used by the U.S. Air Force for strikes on Iran. The men were first held on suspicion of Explosives Act offenses, then further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act under section 5 of the Terrorism Act. They remain in custody. Officers have not identified them or stated a motive. Terrorism Act arrests can last up to 14 days before charge.

Police received a call at about 12:45 a.m. local time Sunday about three suspicious vehicles traveling toward the base. Armed officers stopped the vans in Whelford, a village that backs onto Fairford. Gloucestershire Police declared a major incident. The Army’s explosive ordnance disposal team examined the vehicles inside a 400-meter cordon. Aerial footage showed a bomb-disposal robot moving among three white vans; two had open rear doors and large black containers visible on the ground. About 85 households were evacuated to a leisure center as a precaution. Officials said they believed the scene was contained. A Hazardous Area Response Team was inside the cordon. Armed officers blocked roads to the main gate.

RAF Fairford hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron. It is a forward operating location for U.S. long-range bombers. The United Kingdom has authorized American use of the base for strikes on Iranian missile sites attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. B-1 bombers have flown from Fairford during the Iran campaign. A U.S. Air Force spokesman said the 501st and other U.K.-based wings “remain vigilant” and would take “appropriate actions” to protect service members, civilians, contractors, and families, but would not discuss specific force-protection measures. Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being briefed. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had previously warned Britain against allowing U.S. bombers to operate from the base. Police have not said the suspects were acting for Tehran.

President Trump told reporters the arrests were “fantastic” and that U.S. and British authorities had worked the case together. “Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation,” he said. “They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great.” He added that the suspects had been “under view for a long time, and we got them,” and that it “may have been Scotland Yard” among the partners involved. The investigation remains in its early stages. Counter Terrorism Policing Senior National Coordinator Vicki Evans said five men were still in custody and that investigators were working with partners “to understand the circumstances of the incident.”