US removes all bombers from RAF Fairford base

The United States has withdrawn all of its bombers from RAF Fairford, a UK military base that was the center of an incident under investigation by counter-terror police. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the removal of the bombers, which were thought to be about a dozen B-1s, back to their home stations in America on Sunday. The reason for the withdrawal was not disclosed, but it follows a major incident on September 27 when police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the airbase.

Five men, all UK nationals from London, were initially arrested on suspicion of terror offenses and later released on bail. A sixth man, a UK-Iranian national, was also arrested and released on bail. Whitehall sources confirmed that the decision was made in response to the incident at the airbase in Gloucestershire. The UK Ministry of Defence has not commented on the matter.

The withdrawal removes a foothold for the US outside of continental Europe, as the US can technically conduct precision strikes directly from the US without the need for a UK base.