British authorities evacuated several homes on Sunday over fears of explosive ordnance near RAF Fairford, an air force base in southern England. American military personnel are stationed at the base, and the United States has used it in recent months to load B-52 and B-1 bombers before sending them to strike sites in Iran.
The local police said in a statement on Sunday that several men had been arrested “on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act” and that an army specialist explosive ordnance disposal team was “examining a number of vehicles.”
The statement added that the police believed the incident was “contained” but that they had a cordon in place and had evacuated homes in the Whelford area of the county of Gloucestershire, which is near the base and west of London.
The United States Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what had happened near the base, which is home to both the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron.
But in a statement to the BBC, it said: “The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow UK-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our U.S. service members, civilians, contractors, and their families.”
The base “serves as the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for USAF Global Strike Command,” according to the Air Force.
The British Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Prime Minister Andy Burnham was “being kept updated” and confirmed that authorities had detained “several suspects.”
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