LONDON — British counterterrorism police took the lead of an investigation into the arrest of several men over suspected explosives offenses near a Royal Air Force base that has been used by U.S. bombers in the Iran war.
Gloucestershire police said Sunday that the men were detained on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act, and that army bomb-disposal experts were examining several vehicles.
A major incident was declared and aerial footage from Sky News appeared to show a bomb disposal robot roaming between three white trucks. The rear doors of two of the vans were open and large black items could be seen scattered around.
Police said the situation appeared to be “contained” but did not confirm the arrests were linked to the base, though the proximity of RAF Fairford, which hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron, has raised speculation that there is a connection.
Whelford is near Fairford, a base that American forces have used for strictly limited strikes during the war with Iran. After the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on Feb. 28, the U.K. government allowed the American military to use the Fairford base to strike Iranian missile sites.
“The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow U.K.-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our U.S. service members, civilians, contractors, and their families," a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force said.
The spokesperson would not discuss specific force protection measures for security reasons.
“We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families,” the spokesperson said.
The arrests come at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from hostile states to the U.K., with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf on British soil. In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran increased 50% in the six months to December 2025.
Residents in a number of properties in Whelford, western England, have been taken to a nearby leisure center.
Julian Tudsbury, who has lived in Whelford for 30 years, said a resident had reported three “suspicious vans” in the village in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident, said he couldn’t elaborate,” he said.
Britain's Defense Secretary Wes Streeting thanked the emergency and specialist teams who responded to the incident.
“We can be reassured that this is being dealt with," he said.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is receiving updates on the situation, his office said.
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