One of five men arrested near RAF Fairford called police shortly before his arrest. No explosives were found in the vehicles.
One of five men arrested last weekend in connection with an alleged plot targeting RAF Fairford contacted police shortly before officers arrived at the scene, multiple British media outlets reported Tuesday, a detail first disclosed by The Times of London. The men, aged 23 to 25 and from London, were arrested early Sunday on suspicion of explosives offenses and later preparing a terrorist act, near the Gloucestershire base from which U.S. B-1 bombers have flown missions against Iran.
Police said a response was activated in the early hours of Sunday “due to a range of information received,” including a call from a farmer who discovered three vans blocking a road near the base at 1:36 a.m. Counter-terrorism police assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said one of the suspects had contacted authorities roughly an hour before that call, though he did not detail the nature or content of that contact. Taylor confirmed no improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicles, though a quantity of petrol was recovered, and said investigators continue to examine “every possible angle,” including the potential use of proxies by a hostile state.
All five men were released on bail Monday, and police said they plan to close their investigative operation at the Fairford site by Wednesday, though the broader investigation remains ongoing. President Donald Trump, asked about the case Tuesday, said Washington had been involved in what he described as a long-standing investigation, and again questioned the decision to release the suspects, calling them “seriously bad people.” Iraqi and Iranian involvement has not been confirmed, though speculation over a possible Iran connection has grown given the base’s role in the ongoing war between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
This report is based on information from CNN, Sky News, NPR and Gloucestershire Constabulary.