5 suspects in terror plot against US-linked British air base released on bail, police say 

Five men who were arrested Sunday under suspicion of ties to a possible terror plot against a U.S.-operated air force base in England were released Monday on bail but remain under investigation, according to multiple reports.

The United States uses the base, R.A.F. Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, primarily for long-range bombing missions, according to the New York Times. American Air Force bombers, including B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bombers, have departed from the base for missions against Iran in the past six months, according to the Times.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a warning in July against Britain, saying it would hold “London responsible for” allowing American bombers to use the base for active strikes against Iran, The Times reports.

“Any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces,” the IRGC said.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone of Gloucestershire Police said the department received a call around 12:45 a.m. Sunday notifying police about suspicious vehicles heading toward the base, according to the Times. A local farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, said she called police after seeing three strange vans and a group of men, some with covered faces, who scattered when she passed them, according to the Associated Press.

British officials said they evacuated more than 85 homes in the rural town surrounding the base, but Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth announced Monday that residents can return to their homes. She said the investigation has forced “our usually quiet and peaceful communities under the spotlight of the international media,” according to the BBC.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also said Monday that the scene was safe for residents to return home, “thanks to the excellent work of the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team,” according to AP News. At the time of publication, a cordon still surrounded the three suspected vans, according to the BBC. 

The five unnamed suspects were all British nationals from London and in their 20s and were held under suspicion of possessing explosives and preparing an act of terrorism, according to police, AP reports. Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said the five men, now on bail, would be “subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others,” according to the Times.

The Iranian Embassy in London denied involvement, saying it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations,” according to AP.

President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday the British police’s efforts were “fantastic” and said the suspects were “under view for a long time and we got them,” the Times reported.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he planned to hold a meeting later Monday afternoon with the emergency committee of COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A), according to AP.

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