UK police arrest British national linked to airbase incident
Al Jazeera · LC · trust 69/100
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x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Armed police maintain road blocks and security checks around RAF Fairford on September 28, 2026 in Fairford, England [Leon Neal/Getty Images] By AFP and Reuters Published On 6 Oct 2026 6 Oct 2026 British police have arrested a twenty-two-year-old British national on suspicion of a terror offence linked to a security incident near a UK airbase hosting US warplanes on September 27.
Counter Terrorism Police said the individual arrested on Tuesday was connected with “activity that took place close to RAF Fairford” and the arrest had been made “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts”.
The latest arrest is the seventh connected to the incident, which remains largely unexplained, over the past two weeks.
On Thursday, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested in London.
All six have been released on bail under investigation.
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.
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, RAF Fairford is the preferred European base for US bombers. Their withdrawal was made over concerns about a suspected Iranian plot to carry out a complex drone attack on the facility, according to US officials.
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.
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