Five men have been detained near an airbase in western England. They are suspected of terrorism and crimes involving the use of explosives. A state of emergency (major incident) was declared in the area. Dozens of people have been evacuated from nearby houses, and sappers are checking cars nearby. Here's what is known so far.
Where is the air base?
The incident occurred near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. It is located in the Cotswolds, approximately 4 miles south of Fairford on the River Colne.
This base has been used by the US military for many years, most recently as a staging post for strikes against Iran.
What happened?
Gloucestershire Police said a call was received at 00:45 BST reporting "three suspicious vehicles" heading towards Fairford Air Force Base.
Officers later detained five men near the village of Welford, about 2 miles southeast of the base. A group of sappers was sent to the village, they checked the vehicles. The scene of the incident was cordoned off within a radius of 400 meters.
Aerial footage shows the remote-controlled robot approaching two white vans parked in a wooded area. The police did not officially confirm its use.
The investigation into the incident is being led by the UK Counter Terrorism Police (CTP). According to the BBC, this operation was not initiated on the basis of intelligence.
US military officials said they are "working closely" with their British counterparts "to monitor the situation, minimize the impact and ensure the safety of American service members, their families and local communities."
Emergency services have been in large numbers in the area since early Sunday morning; According to Gloucestershire Police's interim chief constable Maggie Blythe, this situation will continue for the next few days.
At a press conference on Sunday evening, Blythe said police would continue to assist the CTP and liaise with other national agencies.
She also noted that the issue of classifying the incident as a “terrorist incident” remains within the competence of the CTP.
Who is detained?
Five men were detained on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act. They were later detained again - this time on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack.
The detainees are in custody, their names have not been disclosed, and the police have not said where they are being held.
Under normal detention without charge, a person can be held for 24 hours unless an extension is applied for. But those detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 can be held for up to 14 days.
When asked if police were looking for anyone else in connection with the incident, Blythe would only say that she believed the situation was "under control."
US President Donald Trump said the detainees were "planning to cause serious harm," adding: "We've been monitoring them for a long time and we finally captured them."
The BBC has obtained an image believed to show the moment the five suspects were detained.
The BBC's detection department, BBC Verify, geolocated the photo and confirmed that the photograph was most likely genuine.
Photo taken at Welford, approximately 350 meters from the air base's runway exit via emergency gate 6A.
The original source of the photograph could not be determined.
“My call to 999 ruined their plans.”
A local woman who called the 999 emergency number to report three suspicious white vans in Welford village says it was "pure luck" that she spotted them.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today show, the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she returned home to find the road and driveway blocked and a "large group of men wearing hoods and masks."
“When they saw me, they scattered: some into the field, and others towards the neighboring village of Kempsford. Then I realized that something completely unusual was happening,” she added.
According to her, she first called the Ministry of Defense police responsible for security at the air base, but they did not answer. She then called 999. The call came at 1.36am and “within ten minutes the village was full of armed police”.
“I think my call to 999 ruined their plans, whatever they were,” she says. “I’m simply amazed that it was I, an ordinary person, who happened to notice this and report it to the authorities.” Someone's clearly seriously screwed up here."
Another local resident told the BBC he saw the arrest. Jeff (he did not give his last name) heard "screams outside the front door" but could not pinpoint where they were coming from. According to him, he looked out the window and saw police detaining people on the street.
How many houses were evacuated?
Residents of 85 houses were evacuated on Sunday night. They were placed in a nearby entertainment center. Gloucestershire Police warned they could not return home soon. Cotswold District Council will arrange overnight accommodation for victims who are unable to stay with other family members or friends, Deputy Chief Executive David Stanley said.
Several people told the BBC they were woken up by police early on Sunday morning and told to leave.
“We just had to get dressed and come [here]. We didn’t know anything,” said one resident, who gave her name as Jo.
Another resident, Jason, said: “It all happened very quickly. We just packed our things and came here."
A BBC reporter who visited the leisure center where the evacuees were being housed noted that some were still dressed in their pajamas.
What do the British authorities say?
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the incident "a matter of grave concern" and said the government "will always take all necessary measures" to protect people.
He urged “not to speculate until the authorities have established all the facts.”
British Defense Minister Wes Streeting, in a conversation with BBC Breakfast on Monday, thanked the population for their vigilance and promptly informing emergency services about the impending crime.
According to him, the woman farmer who called the emergency service acted correctly, but added, without going into details, that she had only “partial information.”
He stressed that “now is not the time to speculate” about whether Iran was involved.
Speaking about the Iranian threat in general, he added: “We know that Iran and its proxies want to harm us.”
“In the dangerous and unstable world we live in, investing in defense is a worthwhile investment,” he concluded.
What is Fairford AFB used for?
For decades, the U.S. Air Force has used Fairford AFB as a forward operating location.
During the Cold War and later during the first Gulf War in 1991, the base was home to the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command.
The base was last used on March 1, following then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to allow the US to use it for "defensive missions to destroy Iran's missile capabilities", meaning strikes against Iranian military installations.
How to hide bombers
Military observer for the BBC Russian Service Pavel Aksenov
On June 1, 2025, Ukraine conducted Operation Web on Russian territory. Ukrainian copters, hidden in truck trailers without the knowledge of their drivers, took off from them near four Russian strategic aviation airfields and attacked the bombers. At least 10 aircraft were destroyed.
After this, there was a lot of discussion on social networks and the media about how to secure military airfields. Shooting down a small copter is not easy; electronic warfare systems can either be bypassed, or artificial intelligence can be used on the drone, which allows it to act autonomously.
The most reliable way would be to build shelters for the planes. These are large and complex engineering structures, which also require quite a lot. You won’t be able to get by with a simple roof—you need hangars with gates and walls that will prevent drones from flying in from the side.
It is very expensive to build such hangars. But their absence has already cost Russia a dozen bombers - also very expensive.
