Although RAF Fairford airbase in England has been used for decades by the American military, it was the vigilance of a farmer—and not the work of security teams—that led to the arrest on Sunday of five men who were allegedly preparing a terrorist attack on the installation.
Also read: Trump says men arrested at a US air base planned to cause “great damage.”
According to British newspapers and websites, a resident who wished to remain anonymous said she was returning from a party after midnight when she noticed three white vans blocking the road in the village of Whelford, located just over three kilometres from the airbase. In the vehicles there was a “large group of hooded and masked men.”
“When they saw me, they ran ahead of me—some toward the field and others toward the neighboring village of Kempsford. Then I realized something highly unusual was happening,” the resident told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Subsequently, the resident said she had called the airbase, but no one answered. So she dialed 999 for the police. “In 10 minutes, the village was full of armed police. I believe my call to 999 thwarted the plans they had. I am absolutely shocked that it fell to me, as a member of the public, to see and report this. Someone really messed this up.”
Another resident described the moment he said he saw the police arrest the suspects.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday (28), Defence Secretary Wes Streeting thanked the public for their vigilance and swift action in alerting emergency services to the plan.
He added that the farmer who told the BBC about her call to 999 “did the right thing” by reporting the men, but said she had only a “partial view,” without going into further detail.
Regarding claims of any Iranian involvement in the alleged terrorist plot, the secretary said that it is too early to speculate. On Iran’s threats to the United Kingdom more broadly, Streeting added: “We know that Iran and its proxies wish to do us harm.”
So far, police have confirmed only that the five men, in their twenties, are from the London area.
Eighty-five households were evacuated after the incident, and residents were urged to shelter in a leisure centre or in nearby hotels. Several people told the BBC that they were woken by police in the early hours of Sunday and ordered to leave.
RAF Fairford base has been used by the United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command since the Cold War, with intensified movement since the first Gulf War in 1991.
Bombers B-52 were also deployed by the United States from RAF Fairford in attacks on Iraq in 2003.
The base has been used more recently since March 1, after a decision by former British prime minister Keir Starmer to allow the U.S. to use British bases—including RAF Fairford—for “defensive” strikes against Iranian capabilities.
