Five Arrested Near US Bomber Base in Suspected Terror Plot

The call came in at 12:45am. Three suspicious vehicles, apparently heading towards the air base. That's how Sunday began in a corner of Gloucestershire better known for plane spotters and an annual air show than for armed cordons.

By daylight, armed officers had arrested five men in the Whelford area, a village a mile or two from RAF Fairford. The arrests started under the Explosives Act. Later, Counter Terrorism Policing confirmed the men were also held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Police threw a 400 metre cordon around the vehicles, army explosives experts moved in, and around 85 households were told to leave their homes as a precaution.

Not a lot, which is normal this early. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, who leads counter-terror policing nationally, called it the early stages of an investigation and confirmed all five remain in custody. Gloucestershire's Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone said work to establish the full nature of the incident was still going on.

What's missing is long. No names, no ages, no nationalities. Nothing on what was inside the vehicles or what the men are suspected of planning.

Pictures from the scene fill some gaps without answering the big ones. Aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot moving between three white vans parked in woodland, with the back doors of two standing open and large black items lying around. On Sunday evening, reporters near the perimeter fence heard what sounded like two controlled detonations from the direction of Whelford. Dozens of residents were expected to spend the night away from home.

The tip that started it all reportedly came from an ordinary local. Several British outlets, including The Guardian and The Times, report that a farmer driving home late at night came across a group of men with their faces covered near a junction. According to the Times account, some of them dashed into the fields while others ran towards the next village. She rang 999.

Some reports add that she warned neighbours through a local WhatsApp group. Police haven't confirmed the details of what she saw, and it's worth treating the colour in these accounts carefully. What is on record is the timing: a call about three vehicles at 12:45am, armed officers on the scene soon after, five men in handcuffs.

RAF Fairford is a British-owned base run by the US Air Force under an arrangement that dates back to the Cold War. It hosts the 501st Combat Support Wing and is one of the few airfields in Europe that can handle America's B-1 and B-52 heavy bombers.

Since February it has been a key hub for US operations against Iran, after the American-Israeli war on the country began on February 28. Britain's role has been politically awkward. Then Prime Minister Keir Starmer voiced opposition to the war but agreed to limited use of Fairford, strictly for defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites. Iran, for its part, has said before that a base used to attack its territory is a legitimate target.

The base has an older history with trouble too. In 2003, five anti-war protesters known as the Fairford Five cut their way in at the start of the Iraq War and damaged equipment meant for B-52 missions. Nobody is comparing the two cases. It just shows how long this fence line has been a flashpoint.

On a happier note, Fairford also hosts the Royal International Air Tattoo, and the road alongside the runway in Whelford is a favourite with aviation photographers. That's the village now sitting inside a police cordon.

Investigators are looking at Iran, but nobody official has said it's the answer. ITV News understands one line of inquiry is whether representatives of the Iranian government paid other people to carry out a plot on their behalf. Sky News reports counter-terror police are examining whether Iran is linked, and NPR describes a link as one possibility under investigation.

There is background here. Britain said last year it had responded to more than 20 Iran-backed plots since 2022. In March this year, the Met arrested four men in north London accused of surveying locations and individuals to help Iran's intelligence service.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked people not to speculate. His government's position is that the full facts need establishing first, and that "precautionary checks" were the reason residents were moved.

Burnham thanked emergency services and evacuated residents on X, calling the incident deeply concerning for people locally and beyond. The UK and US defence secretaries, Wes Streeting and Pete Hegseth, spoke about it during the day.

President Donald Trump, speaking after stepping off Air Force One, called it an amazing job by police and said the men had been looking to do "big damage". The US Air Force at Fairford said it would not discuss specific force protection measures but that the unit remains vigilant. The US Embassy in London issued a security alert urging Americans in the UK to exercise caution and stay aware of personal security.

Under UK terrorism law, suspects can be held for up to 14 days before being charged or released, with a judge's approval needed after the first 48 hours. So the men could be in police hands for a good while yet. The three vehicles are still being examined, the cordon around Whelford remains a live question and the police have said more will follow as evidence is gathered from the scene.