Those detained in the UK on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act planned to cause “great damage“ to Fairford Air Base, used by the US military. This was stated by US President Donald Trump to journalists in the state of Illinois.
According to him, the suspects were monitored for a long time before they were detained. “We investigated their activities. They planned to cause great damage to our base“, said Trump. He added: “We have been following them for a long time and we have captured them“.
Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation
On September 27, several people were detained in the UK in connection with an incident near Fairford Air Base in Gloucestershire. The arrests were made on suspicion of crimes under the Explosives Act, and it later became known that the counter-terrorism police were working on the case.
According to information cited by “Evropeyskaya Pravda“ and ABC News, the detainees are suspected of preparing a terrorist act. At this stage, there are no reports of charges being filed or a court decision in the case.
No confirmed connection with Iran
Fairford has been used by the US military for operations against Iran. However, British authorities have not confirmed or established a connection between the detainees and Iran. Trump also did not indicate a suspected motive for the planned crime.
The US president described the cooperation with the British authorities as very good and said that the detention was “fantastic”. In July, Britain announced that its armed forces were ready to defend the country from any attack after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that American bombers should not take off from Fairford.
The investigation is ongoing, with British authorities trying to determine the intentions of the detainees, whether they had explosives and whether they had links to other individuals or organisations.
Sources: ABC News