WASHINGTON — The United States has removed all 12 of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, flying them back to their home stations in the United States just days after British police arrested six people over a suspected terror plot targeting the base, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed Sunday, Oct. 4, according to Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the removal. In a statement, the Pentagon said “all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” according to Reuters.
The withdrawal was urgent enough that some bombers took off while aerial refueling aircraft were still being scrambled, and at least three had already reached their South Dakota home base by Sunday, The New York Times reported, according to Newsmax.
The move followed a suspected terror plot against the base: on Sept. 27, five British men were arrested near the base driving white vans, according to USA Today and the New York Post. Police found petrol but no explosives, and all five were released on police bail while the investigation continues. On Oct. 1, a sixth person — a dual British-Iranian national — was arrested in central London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and was also released on bail, according to USA Today. Police say all six remain under investigation.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Sept. 30 there are “strong indications” Iran was involved in the plot, while Iran called the accusations baseless and summoned the British ambassador, Reuters reported.
President Trump said those involved had planned “big damage,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to the “hands of a foreign actor,” according to Reuters. But Rubio said Monday he would not “directly tie” the redeployment to the plot, calling such rotations normal. A U.S. official separately described the latest threat as a “real world incident,” according to CNN.
RAF Fairford has served as a launch point for U.S. strikes on Iranian missile sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which the British government allowed, according to Reuters. The United States and Israel have been at war with Iran since Feb. 28. Any Iranian involvement in the alleged plot is alleged by U.S. and U.K. officials only; Iran denies involvement.
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