Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
British police said on Monday they were investigating whether individuals acting for a foreign state were involved in an apparent plot to attack an airbase used by the United States but said five suspects they had arrested would be released on bail.
The five men, all British nationals from London in their early 20s, were detained early on Sunday after police were alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses US bombers that fly missions against Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in July the base was a legitimate target.
Laurence Taylor, who heads Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said the men, who had been arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and planning a terrorist act, would be released under stringent bail conditions on Monday.
“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” Taylor said in a statement outside London police headquarters. “They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry.”
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the incident “might be” connected to Iran, adding that he would not have released the suspects on bail. “I wouldn’t have done that,” he said.
