US withdraws B-1 bombers from UK’s RAF Fairford after security incident
The US has pulled all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford following a mysterious incident that prompted evacuations and renewed focus on the base’s strategic role.
The United States has withdrawn all its bombers from RAF Fairford, a UK military base that was at the center of an incident being investigated by counter terrorism police. According to a US department official, all the bombers, believed to be around a dozen B-1s, were taken back to their home stations in America. The reason for the withdrawal was not disclosed, but it came after a major incident on September 27th, when three suspicious vehicles were reported near the airbase.
Five men were initially arrested on suspicion of terror offenses, but were later released on bail. A sixth, a UK-Iranian national, was also arrested and released. Whitehall sources confirmed that the US decision was a military response to the incident, not a political one. The UK's Ministry of Defence has not commented on the matter.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
