British police have arrested five men on suspicion of explosives offenses after reports of suspicious activity near RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in southwest England that is used by the United States military.
Counterterrorism police said officers received reports before dawn that three suspicious vans were traveling toward RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The incident prompted a major security operation involving armed police and the British Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams.
Police detained the five suspects under the UK’s Explosive Substances Act and began searching several vehicles near the air base. Authorities said bomb disposal specialists were examining the vehicles as part of the investigation, while officers established security cordons around the area.
Residents living near the base were evacuated from their homes, including properties in the nearby village of Whelford, after police declared the situation a “major incident.” Emergency services, including police, ambulances and fire crews, were deployed to the scene, and access roads leading to the base’s main entrance were temporarily closed.
Gloucestershire Police later said the situation was “contained” but urged the public to continue avoiding the area while specialist officers completed searches and investigators gathered evidence.
RAF Fairford is one of the United States’ key military facilities in Europe and has been used to support long-range bomber deployments and operations in the Middle East. British authorities have previously confirmed that U.S. forces have used the base for missions linked to strikes against Iranian military targets during the recent escalation between Washington and Tehran.
The security operation comes weeks after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that military bases used to support U.S. operations against Iran could become legitimate targets. British officials have not said whether the arrests are linked to those threats or to the wider regional conflict.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham was briefed on the incident, according to the British government, which said it would not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force declined to discuss specific security measures at RAF Fairford but said American forces stationed in the United Kingdom remain vigilant and are taking all necessary steps to protect military personnel, civilian employees, contractors and their families.
The investigation is continuing, and police have not released the identities of the suspects or disclosed whether explosives were recovered from the vehicles.
