Terror police have been pictured arresting five men after a suspected car bomb plot against US forces at RAF Fairford.
The group was found with three vans – suspected to have contained bombs – and were filmed during their arrests as they sat shirtless while handcuffed, indicating officers may also have suspected they were wearing suicide vests.
RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, is the US Air Force’s command outpost for operations from Europe and has been used for American strikes on Iranian missile sites that have been attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The base was the subject of a warning from Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard in July, with the regime warning Britain not to allow US bombers to fly from the base.
Counter-terrorism police are understood to be leading the investigation into the incident amid suspicions a potential attack may have been foiled, while experts are investigating the devices to understand whether they were viable explosives.
Footage, taken by a resident of nearby Whelford at 2.10am today, shows the men in cuffs with a bright light shining in their faces, while another picture shows the three vans they are suspected to have used.
Residents were evacuated from the nearby Cotswolds countryside as armed police and the SAS swooped in while the Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team searched for more bombs.
A Government spokesman said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being ‘kept updated’ from Liverpool, where the Labour Party conference is getting under way today.
Five men were pictured shirtless near RAF Fairford after being arrested this morning under the Explosives Act
The men are suspected of using three vans, also seen in this morning’s footage as vehicle bombs and, because they were shirtless during their arrest, are suspected of wearing suicide vests
The group was rounded up and put in hadcuffs sat on the road as security bosses sent in Army bomb experts and the SAS to tackle the threat
Armed police around the village of Whelford, near RAF Fairford this morning
The incident will raise fresh questions over the thorny decisions to be made on defence by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his Chancellor John Healey at the Budget next month.
Mr Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer initially refused to permit US bombers to use British bases after the outbreak of the Iran war in February, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump, who said the former Labour leader was ‘no Winston Churchill’.
Sir Keir soon relented and gave the US permission in March for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of destroying Iranian missiles ‘at source’.
RAF Fairford has reportedly been put on Delta alert, the highest threat level used by Washington’s Department of Defense.
Meanwhile security has been tightened at other US bases in the UK, with reports that RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk has been placed on Charlie alert, the second-highest threat level.
A Lakenheath spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures are implemented or modified.
‘Please be assured that the Tri-Base area (RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell) remains vigilant and will take appropriate action to ensure the safety and security of US service members, US and UK civilians, contractors, and their families.’
The resident who pictured the group’s arrest told this publication: ‘I was asleep and was woken up by shouting coming from outside.
‘I couldn’t tell what was being shouted but as I got nearer the window, I could see the road was being lit up by blue flashing lights from police vehicles.
‘On one side of the road, officers had five men lined up. They all had their shirts removed.
‘They were instructed to sit down. They were patted down by the officers and then had their shoes and socks removed.
‘I think they must have been there for about half an hour. The suspects were then told to get up and were walked round the corner.
‘I lost sight of them after that but I presumed they were put in police vans and led away. This all happened just outside the perimeter of RAF Fairford.
‘The police are investigating three work vans parked a few hundred yards from my house. We’ve not been told much, we were just asked to evacuate our homes early this morning.’
Road blocks and armed police have been in place near the base in recent days and emergency vehicles are parked nearby.
A witness said armed police had blocked access to the base’s main gate and around 30 police cars, ambulances and fire engines were in the village of Fairford.
Earlier a vehicle, apparently a tractor, was pictured blocking a gate at the base.
Armed police at RAF Fairford this morning. Officers blocked entrances to the air base, which is operated by the US Air Force
Officers also evacuated nearby homes, with residents taken to a nearby leisure centre
A B-1B Lancer bomber pictured at the air base, which has been used to mount US strikes against Iran since the US-led war began
Emergency services vehicles including fire engines descended on Whelford as the major incident was investigated
Counter-terror police are leading the investigation amid suspicion an active terror plot may have been foiled
Gloucestershire Police said earlier: ‘A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident.
‘It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the explosives act.
‘The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles. The local residents are being evacuated to a nearby leisure centre.
‘A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained.
‘We are working closely with our partners and are enacting the well-rehearsed plans we have in place.’
A US Air Force spokesman said: ‘The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow UK-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, civilians, contractors, and their families.
‘We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families.’
A vehicle which appeared to be a tractor blocked a gate at RAF Fairford this morning
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said of the incident: ‘We can be reassured that this is being dealt with.’
In June, the US government said it would spend around $500million (£377million) on ‘expansion and military infrastructure’ at the base, understood to include a new hangar complex.
A month earlier the Royal International Air Tattoo, set to be held at the base in July, was cancelled after the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises (RAFCTE) said the ‘escalating geopolitical situation in the Middle East’ had required a ‘significant increase in real-world operational missions’ from RAF Fairford.
RAFCTE said both the Royal and US air forces needed to ‘maintain unrestricted, 24/7 operational readiness at the base’.
Shortly after the US and Israel began the war with Iran on February 28, roads surrounding RAF Fairford were closed in a bid to ‘address safety and access issues’.
Protective screens were mounted on the base’s perimeter fences in March to stop filming after it became popular with plane spotters when US bombers began arriving.
That month US military personnel at the base were pictured preparing explosives at the base as Washington intensified strikes on Iran.
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