US withdraws B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford as UK insists base is secure
publishers 12articles 14first reported 3 Oct, 03:50 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 8 editions
The United States has withdrawn its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire amid concerns about a possible Iran-linked threat, while British officials insist the base remains secure.
Aircraft trackers reported that 12 bombers left for the United States on Sunday, with some departures occurring so rapidly that refuelling aircraft had to be mobilised. The Pentagon confirmed the redeployment. The New York Times, cited by the Guardian, reported that US commanders had received new information about an alleged Iran-backed plot against the base.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said Monday that RAF Fairford was safe and cited Britain’s “tried and tested approaches” for defending military bases. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed confidence in base security and praised British cooperation, but said he would not directly connect the aircraft relocation to an incident near Fairford last week. He described military reallocations as routine.
Five men travelling in vans near the base were arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and later released on bail. Police found no explosive devices, although the Guardian reported that a barrel of petrol was recovered. A sixth man, a dual British-Iranian national arrested separately in London, was also released on bail.
A NATO military source told Al Jazeera that Iran was still considered an acute threat to US assets in Britain. Iran has denied involvement in last week’s incident, though its Revolutionary Guards previously described RAF Fairford as a legitimate military target.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 5 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 4 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 18 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 12
- Source articles
- 14
- Given to the writer
- 5, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 4
- This version written
- 18 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
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