The release of five men arrested near a British air base used by the United States military has prompted questions and speculation over a counterterrorism investigation which has been linked to foreign adversaries, including Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the incident by RAF Fairford, in the village of Whelford, Gloucestershire, “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor” without providing evidence. The site is used by American bombers, including during the war in Iran launched by U.S.
President Donald Trump earlier this year, but Tehran has denied any connection to the incident, saying that accusations of involvement are “fabricated speculations.” Local politicians have expressed concern about the messaging around the investigation, and residents and analysts have claimed the site was already on high alert before Sunday's arrests. "If a foreign link is confirmed in the coming days, it would fit a pattern we've already seen in London and elsewhere," Kathryn Raines, a threat intelligence expert from security firm Flashpoint, told Newsweek. Gloucestershire Police were tipped off at around 12:45 a.m.
Sunday about suspicious vehicles near RAF Fairford, an air base used by the U.S. military for decades. Armed officers arrested five men at the scene on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act and later, preparation of a terrorist act under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. Under the United Kingdom's Terrorism Act, suspects can be detained for 48 hours without charge, and officers can apply for an extension for up to 14 days.
But Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said that the suspects were released on police bail on Monday afternoon and would be subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. "They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry," Taylor said. "This does not mean the investigation is over." Trump questioned this move, saying "we would not have released them." Rubio told Fox News that people were “disturbed that some of these people have been released on bail." Former National Counter Terrorism coordinator Nick Aldworth told BBC Radio Wiltshire on Tuesday that the decision to bail the suspects after only 36 hours would not have been made lightly.
He said that "if somebody is entitled to bail, they will get bail. If they’re not, they won’t." The person who informed police has been described as a female farmer from Whelford in her 50s who did not want to be named for her own safety. She said she had been traveling home from a party with her husband and an employee when they spotted the vehicles parked in a “really strange formation,” the U.K's Press Association reported.
She said she couldn't drive between the vehicles or enter the farm driveway, so she called the number on the side of one of the vehicles, all of which were empty. After dropping off their employee, the woman and her husband returned to the scene and saw a group of men "panicking" at their car lights on full beam. Some ran into the field while others headed toward the next village, Kempsford.
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