The United States withdrew all the bombers that had been deployed at RAF Fairford in Britain, returning them to their permanent bases in the U.S., a few days after the arrests of five men near the facility in connection with a case being investigated as a possible terrorist plot. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the aircraft’s departure but did not explain what led to the decision.
An official from the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that all U.S. bombers that had been deployed at RAF Fairford have returned to their bases in the United States.
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The official announcement did not include details regarding the reason for the redeployment, while a source familiar with the matter described the new threat as a “real-world” incident.
According to Reuters, the withdrawal involves B-1 bombers, which had been deployed at the British base and used in U.S. operations against Iran.
RAF Fairford serves as a forward operating base for U.S. Global Strike Command, which is responsible for long-range strategic operations.
The five arrests near the base
The bombers’ departure comes as the investigation continues into the incident on September 27, when British police arrested five men near RAF Fairford.
The five, all British nationals aged 23 to 25 and from the London area, were initially arrested on charges related to explosives and subsequently as suspects in the preparation of a terrorist act. They were later released on bail, while the investigation remains ongoing.
Authorities did not find any explosive devices in the three vans that were searched, though a quantity of gasoline was discovered.
The decision to release them drew a reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump, who stated that he himself would not have taken such action.
The investigation into possible foreign state involvement
British authorities are examining the possibility that a foreign state actor is behind the case.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had stated that a foreign state was involved in the case, without naming it, while the British government has reported that there is strong evidence of Iran’s possible involvement.
Iran, for its part, has rejected the accusations as baseless and summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to provide an explanation.
According to Iranian state media, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi called on London to reconsider what he described as an “inappropriate approach” toward Tehran.
As part of the same investigation, a 27-year-old man with dual British and Iranian citizenship was arrested on October 1 in London on suspicion of planning terrorist acts.
Meanwhile, another 26-year-old British man was questioned, while the five men who were initially arrested remain under investigation.
Source: Protothema.gr
