UK police arrest British national linked to RAF Fairford airbase incident
Twenty-two-year-old-year old British national arrested on suspicion of ‘terrorism’.
British police have arrested a twenty-two-year-old British national on suspicion of a “terror” offence linked to a security incident near a United Kingdom airbase hosting United States warplanes on September 27.
Counter Terrorism Policing said the individual arrested on Tuesday was connected with “activity that took place close to RAF [Royal Air Force] Fairford” and the arrest had been made “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts”.
The latest arrest is the seventh connected to the incident, which remains largely unexplained more than a week later.
On Thursday, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested in London.
Earlier, five British men in their 20s were detained near the perimeter of the base in the early hours of September 27.
Police said they had found a supply of petrol in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives.
The six men arrested previously have been released on bail while the investigation continues.
US bombers moved on Sunday over threats
The US confirmed on Sunday that it moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, though it remains unclear whether the move was directly connected to the arrests.
RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war against Iran, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.
Located roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, RAF Fairford is the preferred European base for US bombers. Their withdrawal was made over concerns about a suspected Iranian plot to carry out a complex drone attack on the facility, according to US officials.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said his administration withdrew B-1 bombers from the site because of what he described as “some threats”.
“We had a threat, and if we’re going to be threatened, we just move them, and that sort of alleviates that,” he told reporters, adding the people who made the threat “would be linked to Iran”, without elaborating.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK sees “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident, without providing details.
Iran has denied involvement.
