Trump Withdraws B-1 Bombers from UK After Security Incident

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The United States has withdrawn B-1 bombers stationed at the RAF Fairford military base in Britain following an incident that led to the arrest of six suspects, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

“All US bombers that had been deployed at RAF Fairford have returned to their bases in the United States,” the US Department of War said in a statement.

British police intervened near RAF Fairford in southern England in late September after receiving an emergency call reporting “three suspicious vehicles”.

Police found no explosive devices inside the vehicles, but they discovered an unspecified quantity of fuel.

Authorities subsequently arrested six men — five Britons at the scene and a British-Iranian man several days later — on suspicion of “preparing a terrorist act”.

A court later released all six men on conditional bail. Several aspects of the case remain unclear.

Britain points to possible Iranian involvement

Last Wednesday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran had links to the incident. Tehran categorically denied any involvement.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence services had shared information with London about an alleged Iran-backed terrorist plot.

US President Donald Trump expressed his “disappointment” over the decision to release the suspects on conditional bail.

RAF Fairford had supported US operations

The United States had used RAF Fairford since March as part of its operations connected to the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28.

According to London, the US used the base for “defensive” operations.

The withdrawal of the B-1 bombers follows the security incident while questions remain over the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the alleged plot.

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