US military withdraws bombers from British air base following security incident

The US Air Force has withdrawn all its bombers from a British air base following a security incident that led to the arrest of five Britons and a British and Iranian national last month, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to CBS News on Sunday.

All US bombers deployed to RAF Fairford have been returned to their home stations in the United States, the spokesperson said. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the return of the suicide bombers.

“US Air Force bombers operate regularly around the world to support global force readiness and operational requirements,” the Pentagon spokesperson said. “Airmen who operate America’s bomber force, including B-1s, B-2s and B-52s, remain ready to provide global precision strike capabilities – including through launch and recovery operations from the continental United States – anywhere, at any time.

On September 27, five men, all British nationals in their 20s and from London, were arrested on suspicion of explosives and terrorist offenses near RAF Fairford air base, which was used by US bombers to strike Iran. Police say they found a quantity of accelerant – gasoline – in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives.

The suspects have since been released on bail.

A dual British and Iranian national was also subsequently arrested. suspected of having plotted a terrorist attack. The 25-year-old was taken into custody in London on Thursday and on Saturday counter-terrorism police announced he had been released on bail.

The British government believes Iran “played a role” in the airbase incident, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week.

“There are strong indications that Iran played a role in what happened this weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course this is an ongoing, complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America,” the Prime Minister told the BBC.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said since the start of the war that any bases used to attack the country would be considered legitimate targets. But the Iranian Embassy in London said in a statement last week that the regime “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculation published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran” to the incident.