
B-1 bombers leave UK base and return to US after arresting suspects near facility
The United States has withdrawn B-1 bombers from the British RAF Fairford base after detaining several people on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks near the facility.
AI-generated summary
RAF Fairford is used by the US Air Force for operations in the Middle East. Suspects of preparing terrorist attacks were recently detained near the base.
The United States has withdrawn all its bombers from RAF Fairford, a British military base near which several people were detained a week ago on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks.
A Pentagon spokesman said in a statement Sunday that the bombers - believed to be about ten B-1s - left the base and returned to their bases in the United States.
The US did not give a reason for withdrawing the planes.
The airbase, located northwest of London, was home to B-1 bombers. These planes were used by the United States to attack Iran.
On September 27, police received a report of three “suspicious vehicles” near an air base in Gloucestershire, after which five people were detained.
Whitehall sources do not deny that Washington's decision was made in response to this incident.
According to the BBC, this was a military rather than a political decision: it was made at the operational level, after which the US military informed its British counterparts.
The UK Ministry of Defense has not yet commented.
Flight monitoring services show the B-1 bombers took off from RAF Fairford on Sunday.
A few days after the incident at RAF Fairford, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran was involved, but did not provide any details. Tehran has categorically denied any involvement.
Initially, five men were detained and arrested near the base on suspicion of terrorist crimes. All five - British citizens from London - were soon released on bail. A sixth man, a British and Iranian citizen, was also later arrested and released on bail.
Police called the suspects' release an "investigative decision" "based on experience and strategy."
RAF Fairford has been used by the United States Air Force (USAF) as a forward operating location for decades.
The US has flown B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base towards the Middle East in recent months after Britain approved a US request to use the base to launch strikes on Iran.
In July, Tehran said that "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory is a legitimate target" for Iran's armed forces.
A few days after the incident, but before the arrest of the sixth suspect, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News that there was “clearly a foreign party involved.” Rubio did not provide details, noting that his ability to speak on air is limited.
US President Donald Trump, in turn, said he was “surprised” that the five men were released on bail.
“We know everything about them, we would not release them,” he said, adding that Britain was working “very closely” with the US on the issue.

US forces have relocated over 1,000 km from Iran's border and US warships are absent from key regional waters, according to Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi of the IRGC. Fadavi also asserted that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz.

The Ukrainian armed forces have systematically shelled the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant over the past two weeks, damaging a transformer and impacting nuclear safety, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated.

The laboratory and utility building and the radioactive waste processing building of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant were attacked by two Ukrainian UAVs. The facilities are located near the station's power units.

The strikes of the Russian Armed Forces on Kyiv bridges are aimed at testing vulnerabilities, creating a transport effect and depleting the air defense of Ukraine, the Military Chronicle Telegram channel believes.

The radiation background at the Zaporozhye NPP after a night attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the laboratory building and the radioactive waste processing building is normal, the situation is under the control of the personnel.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the laboratory building and the building for processing radioactive waste at the Zaporizhia NPP. There were no casualties, the roof was damaged, and there was no threat to nuclear safety.