UK police arrest British national linked to airbase incident
22-year old British national arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
British police have arrested a 22-year old British national on suspicion of a terror offence linked to the security incident near a UK airbase hosting US warplanes on September 27.
Counter Terrorism Police say the individual is connected with “activity that took place close to RAF Fairford.”
In a statement, police said the arrest had been made “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts”.
“This remains a live investigation and our specialist teams continue to pursue multiple lines of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding events near RAF Fairford,” Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing said.
Unexplained incident
The latest arrest is the seventh connected to the incident, which remains largely unexplained, over the past two weeks.
Five British men in their twenties were detained near the perimeter of the base in the early hours of September 27.
Police said they had found a supply of gasoline in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives.
On Thursday, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested in London.
All six have been released on bail under investigation.
US bombers moved on Sunday over threats
The US moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford on Sunday, though it’s unclear whether the move is 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, the base has since been rumoured to be the target of a “terror” plot involving Tehran.
On Monday, US President 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 would 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, but it has previously said it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target.