UK arrests 5 after incident near US bomber base

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

UK police say they arrested five men in connection with an incident near a Royal Air Force base used by US bombers.

Gloucestershire police said on Sunday that the men were detained on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, and that army bomb disposal experts were examining several vehicles. A major incident was declared and aerial footage from Sky News appeared to show a bomb disposal robot roaming between three white trucks. The rear doors of two of the vans were open and large black items could be seen scattered around.

Police said the situation appeared to be ‘contained’ but did not confirm that the arrests were linked to the base, though the proximity of RAF Fairford, which hosts the headquarters of the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron, has raised speculation that there is a connection. Fairford has been used by American forces for strictly limited strikes during the war with Iran.

After the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, the UK government allowed the American military to use the Fairford base to strike Iranian missile sites. Iran has said bombers flying from the base have been used for strikes beyond the original remit. A spokesperson for the US Air Force said US and British personnel “remain vigilant” and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of all those at the base.

“For operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures,” the spokesperson said.

“We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families.” The arrests come at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from states hostile to the UK, with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf on British soil.

In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran increased 50 per cent in the six months before December 2025. Residents in a number of properties in Whelford, which backs onto the airbase, have been taken to a nearby leisure centre.

Julian Tudsbery, who has lived in Whelford for 30 years, said a resident had reported three “suspicious vans” in the village in the early hours of Sunday morning. “There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident, said he couldn’t elaborate,” he said. Britain’s Defence Secretary Wes Streeting thanked the emergency and specialist teams who responded to the incident.

“We can be reassured that this is being dealt with,” he said. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is receiving updates on the situation, his office said.