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A Stranger Spotted Three Vans Near a U.S. Air Base. Then Police Found Explosives
A late-night call from a local resident set off a major security operation near a U.S.-used British air base. Within hours, five men were in custody, three vans were surrounded by a 400-meter cordon, and 85 nearby households had been evacuated.
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Adam Enbal at RAF Fairford, England.
At about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, September 27, British police received a report about three suspicious vehicles apparently traveling toward RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwest England. Armed officers responded and arrested five men in the nearby village of Whelford.
The men were initially arrested on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act. They were later arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, while counterterrorism police took control of the investigation.
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British Army bomb-disposal specialists were brought in to examine the three vans. Remote-controlled bomb-disposal equipment was used while the vehicles remained inside a 400-meter security cordon. Police also evacuated about 85 households as a precaution.
Authorities have not publicly identified the five suspects, disclosed their nationalities or confirmed a motive.
That uncertainty is important because RAF Fairford has a direct connection to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. The base is used by U.S. forces and has hosted American heavy bombers involved in limited operations against Iran.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the suspects had been under investigation and claimed they were ālooking to do big damageā to the base. He praised cooperation between U.S. and British authorities. British police, however, have not confirmed Trump's account of prior surveillance or publicly stated that RAF Fairford was the intended target.
Counterterrorism investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the arrests, including what was inside the vans and whether the vehicles were connected to the air base.
The investigation also comes amid heightened concern in Britain over hostile-state activity linked to the wider Middle East conflict. Some reports have raised the possibility of an Iranian connection, particularly because Tehran has previously warned about British bases being used in operations against Iran. But investigators have not established an Iranian role, and other possible motives have not been ruled out.
For the residents of Whelford, the operation transformed an otherwise quiet overnight drive into a large-scale security response. Emergency crews established roadblocks, bomb-disposal teams moved through the area and residents were taken to a nearby recreation center while the vehicles were examined.
The incident was ultimately contained without a reported attack on the base.
And the sequence began with something much smaller: one member of the public noticing three vehicles moving toward a military installation in the early hours and deciding to make a call.
Editorās Note: Five men remain subjects of an ongoing British counterterrorism investigation. Police have confirmed the arrests, the suspicious vehicles, the explosives-related allegations, the evacuation and the subsequent terrorism investigation. Authorities have not publicly confirmed that RAF Fairford was the intended target, that Iran was responsible, or that the suspected devices were viable. President Trumpās comments about the suspects being under investigation and seeking to cause ābig damageā have not been independently confirmed by British police.
