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Five men arrested near RAF Fairford on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act have been released on police bail after no improvised explosive devices were found in three white vans. A report says one of the suspects called police before the arrests.
Five men arrested near a US air force base in the UK have been released on police bail after investigators found no improvised explosive devices in three white vans stopped at the perimeter.
The men had been detained before dawn on Sunday near Royal Air Force Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwest England, on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A new report says the alleged plot was uncovered when one of the suspects himself called the emergency services. The Times reported that the call was made shortly before police detained the group. It was not known whether the call was part of the plot or a sign the man had second thoughts.
Suspect Alerted Police About Suspicious Vehicles
The suspect called the 999 emergency line, the equivalent of Australia's 000 service. Police had also received a call at around 12.45am on Sunday about three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford. A local woman told The Telegraph she saw the men and vans on a local road at about 1.30am and drove away quickly to alert police. I saw a group of Middle Eastern-looking young guys running off through the trees, she told The Telegraph.
Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered ahead of us as we drove back past. Another villager, Julian Tudsbery, said a fellow villager phoned the airbase police first but got no answer, so she dialled 999. The head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said the vehicles had been checked as part of the investigation.
Those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts, and we can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found, he said. However, a quantity of petrol was recovered. Yesterday we released the five men on police bail, Taylor said. They remain under investigation and must adhere to strict conditions while we continue our work.
The safety of the public is at the forefront of our investigative decision-making, and this was certainly the case yesterday. He acknowledged the release on bail would surprise many people but said it was an investigative decision grounded in experience and careful consideration of policing powers. The suspects were released about 38 hours after they were detained near the perimeter of the base, which is used by American aircraft to strike Iran.
No Explosives Found in White Vans At Base
Media footage showed a bomb disposal robot checking the vans, which were painted to look like commercial vehicles carrying fuel. Two vans had their rear doors open. US President Donald Trump told reporters the suspects had been looking to do big damage at the base. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them, he said, adding the US and UK had been working together.
No British minister or police spokesperson has said the suspects had been under surveillance. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News the incident clearly involves a foreign actor. What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation, he told the Hannity program. It is one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.
As with Trump's remarks, the comments from the US were not confirmed by any minister or police authority in the UK. UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has not named Iran as the source of the threat but has hinted it was a possibility. We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm, he said on BBC TV on Sunday.
Streeting also said he had been in contact with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the UK was working closely with our American friends. Some 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were advised to evacuate, and army bomb disposal experts were called in. District councillor Tristan Wilkinson told Agence France-Presse the whole village was evacuated in the early hours.
Local Residents Evacuated During Major Incident
Most people got in their cars, so when police knocked on doors and told them to go, most were able to drive away. Residents were waiting to see if the cordon would be relaxed later on Sunday, with many worried about pets left behind. Gloucestershire police said earlier it had declared a major incident with several men arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.
Counter Terrorism Policing can now confirm they are leading an investigation into an incident which took place overnight near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Fairford is the UK base of the 501st Combat Support Wing, a US air force administrative support wing. It said in a statement that no US air force personnel had been involved in the incident.
The 501st Combat Support Wing appreciates the swift response and continued support of our local law enforcement partners, it said, adding it remained in close coordination with UK partners to help ensure safety and security. Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being kept updated on the incident, a government spokesperson said.
Burnham, who was in Liverpool for his Labour Party's annual conference, thanked police, armed forces and residents who had been asked to leave their homes while precautionary checks are carried out. Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has accused Iran and Russia of using proxies to carry out criminal activities on their behalf on UK territory. Earlier this month, reports said British military sites had been targeted by drones more than 300 times over the past year.
The developments have heightened speculation that the plot was an attempt by a foreign power, such as Iran or possibly Russia, to test British defences by hiring proxies to drive to the air base. Concerns about the scale of the threat rose on Sunday when footage showed the bomb disposal robot checking the vans.
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theage:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
UK Counter-Terrorism Five Men Arrested Police Bail Iran Proxies
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