The Pentagon confirmed that US bombers deployed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire have returned to bases in the United States after a police investigation near the base.
The United States has withdrawn bombers that had been operating from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the BBC reported. A Pentagon official confirmed on Sunday that the aircraft, thought to be about a dozen B-1s, had returned to home stations in the United States.
The move follows a 27 September incident in which police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the base. Five men were arrested on suspicion of terror offences and later released on bail, the BBC said. The Ministry of Defence had not commented. Tracking sites showed B-1s leaving Fairford on Sunday.
The BBC said it had been told the decision was military rather than political and was passed from the US military to British counterparts. The New York Times, cited by the BBC, reported that US commanders had received new threats about an Iran-backed plot against the base, according to two US officials.
Air Data News, citing Air & Space Forces Magazine, reported that all 12 remaining B-1B Lancers left on 4 October, ending a deployment of about seven months that had supported strikes connected to the Iran war. The Pentagon said the B-1, B-2 and B-52 fleets can still fly global missions from US bases.
The security investigation and the operational reason for the withdrawal have not been fully detailed in public. Reports of an Iran-linked plot rest on unnamed US officials and have not been confirmed by a public UK charge.