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LONDON—UK counterterrorism police have arrested several men and evacuated and cordoned off homes in a village near the U.S. Air Force (USAF) bomber base of RAF Fairford, in a major security operation.
Security levels at RAF Fairford, where a dozen USAF Rockwell B-1B bombers are based in support of U.S. military operations in Iran, were ramped up ahead of the operation, which took place overnight on Sept. 26-27.
Gloucestershire Police said several properties in the English village of Whelford on the northeastern perimeter of the base were evacuated as British Army explosive disposal teams were called in to examine several vehicles. The authorities said an undisclosed number of men had been arrested on suspicion of offenses under the UK Explosives Act.
Police did not identify the nationality of those arrested. Officials said they believed the incident has now been contained.
The operation comes on the heels of several threats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard against the base and its personnel.
B-1Bs are currently based at the airfield to perform long-range strike missions in Iran. As part of the joint Israeli/U.S. strikes on Iran, the USAF had also housed several Boeing B-52s at the airfield, but these were returned to the U.S. earlier this summer.
Around 12 B-1Bs remain stationed at Fairford for contingency should tensions in the Middle East escalate further.
The presence of the bombers caused the cancellation of the UK's annual Royal International Air Tattoo airshow, planned for July, due to the uncertainty of airfield access.
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