RAF plot ‘may have been a dry run’
RAF plot ‘may have been a dry run’
Martin EvansTue, September 29, 2026 at 12:47 PM UTC
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A US soldier was seen guarding the gate of RAF Fairford after a major incident was declared at the base - Ben Birchall/PA Wire
Five men arrested on suspicion of a bomb plot near a Royal Air Force base may have been conducting a “dry run”, it is feared.
The British nationals, all in their 20s, were detained on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and preparation of a terrorist act contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act near RAF Fairford on Sunday.
They had travelled to the area in three vans, found 400 metres from the Gloucestershire air base, which were later examined by Army bomb disposal specialists and a robot.
However, police released them on bail on Monday, prompting criticism from Donald Trump, the US president, who hinted that the suspects may be connected to Iran.
One former counter-terrorism officer said detectives would be assessing whether the suspects had been engaged in a dry run when they were arrested.
He told The Telegraph: “One possibility is that this was a hostile reconnaissance operation and they were carrying out a dry run before the actual operation.
“That might explain why the police do not appear to have found anything such as explosives in the vehicles.
“The barrels that were removed look like they might have been empty, so police will want to know whether they were checking out the lay of the land. If so, then these chance arrests were very fortunate indeed.”
Residents of Whelford, where the five men were arrested, also said they were confused by the decision to bail them.
Joseph Deslandes, 35, said: “The bail makes you question what’s going on, really.
“Four days before this happened, there were two undercover police cars for 24 hours, and they had a policeman at every entrance and exit to Fairford for about a day.
“Then the Americans moved one of their big tractors behind the gates at the base. They’re never normally there. Someone must have known something.”
Another man said: “We’re all in a state of confusion here. Why have the police let them go? It seems like a complete farce.
“I think it might have been a practice run. Like they might come back later. Why else would they still have kept the road closed Do the Americans know stuff we don’t?”
After their release, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, claimed a foreign actor was “clearly involved” in the incident.
He told Fox News: “What could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation. It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.”
Mr Rubio did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claims, but he added: “I do want to thank the authorities in the United Kingdom, who have been very co-operative and on top of it.
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“I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, as some of the people are being investigated, and obviously we’re engaging with them on all of that.”
‘I wouldn’t have released them’
Similar concerns were voiced by Mr Trump hours earlier, when he told reporters: “I’m surprised that they released them. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Referring to the British authorities, he said: “Look, they’ve been very good. They worked with us very closely.”
But he added of the suspects: “We know everything about them. We would not have released them... I would not have released them.”
Asked whether the suspects were connected to Iran, the US president replied: “Might be.”
The five men were pictured handcuffed and shirtless on the ground. surrounded by armed police officers. in Whelford on Sunday night.
They were detained on suspicion of offences under the explosives act and preparation of a terrorist act contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act following a call by a member of the public of three vehicles travelling towards the air base at 12.45am.
Counter-terrorism police confirmed that all five were British nationals, namely a 24-year-old from Camden, three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, and one aged 24 from Willesden.
Some 85 households in the area were evacuated in response. Residents were not allowed to return home until Monday evening.
Asst Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said the suspects had been bailed “following extensive interviews and inquiries”.
He added: “They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”
Outside Scotland Yard on Monday, Mr Taylor said his officers were “keeping an open mind” but added that one line of inquiry was that “this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”.
Iran and other hostile states, including Russia, have been known to recruit criminal proxies to carry out threatening activity on UK soil.
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, also warned of “hostile foreign powers that wish us ill and are trying to harm our citizens on our own soil” following a Cobra meeting relating to the plot.
In July, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that it viewed any British base used to attack Tehran as a “legitimate target”.
RAF Fairford is a joint US military base, which American forces have used to conduct defensive strikes on Iran in the last few months.
Iran’s London embassy said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” of Iranian involvement.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
