RAF Fairford Bomb-Plot Suspects Released on Bail as Police Probe Possible Foreign-State Link

All five men arrested over a suspected bomb plot near RAF Fairford have been released on police bail as counter-terrorism police examine whether a foreign state was involved, the national head of counter-terrorism said on Monday.

The five British nationals, aged in their early twenties and based in London, were detained early on Sunday after police were alerted to three white vans driving towards the Gloucestershire airbase. They were initially arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and later of terrorism offences.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said the men had been freed under “stringent conditions” on their movement and contact with others. “To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” he said outside New Scotland Yard, adding that the men “absolutely remain under investigation”.

Taylor said officers were considering “every possible angle”, including whether the incident was carried out by proxies or individuals “knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state”. According to Reuters, a source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, though a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot were also being examined.

Iran’s embassy in London categorically denied any involvement, calling the speculation “unfounded and malicious”. According to The Sun, tests showed the material seized from the vans was “not viable explosives”, though police stressed the inquiry continues.

Sources:

• The Times
• New York Post
• TBS News (Reuters report)
• The Sun