The United States Air Force has reportedly withdrawn all B-1 bomber planes from Britain's Royal Air Force Fairford after an investigation into a suspected terror attack at the airbase and a new reported ‘unspecified’ threat.
The Pentagon confirmed reports on Sunday that the US has brought home the B-1 bomber planes from the RAF airbase, according to an AFP report.
This comes following a suspicious incident that prompted evacuations near the airbase.
Bombers redeployed to home bases
According to a Pentagon official cited in the AFP report, the bombers were redeployed to their home bases in the US.
A statement from the Pentagon official said, "We can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States."
"Operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time," the statement further noted.
‘New threat, real world incident’
A US official, cited by CNN, said that the US has moved the bombers after an unspecified new threat. The source, mentioned in the report, called the latest threat a "real world incident."
{{/usCountry}}A US official, cited by CNN, said that the US has moved the bombers after an unspecified new threat. The source, mentioned in the report, called the latest threat a "real world incident."
{{/usCountry}}The official noted that Washington's move to shift the bombers to their home bases instead of another base in the region is unusual.
Also Read | Trump slams UK's move to release 5 men tied to ‘terror plot’ against RAF base: ‘I wouldn’t have done that’
RAF air base incident
Following a security incident at RAF Fairford in September, a British-Iranian national was arrested in London last week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack.
During the investigation, six people were taken into custody and released on bail, the Associated Press reported. British authorities had linked the incident to Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran's embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" speculation that Tehran was involved.
Police investigated men with several vans near the southwest England airbase after a local farmer reported it. The incident triggered evacuations at 85 homes near the airbase, which was used to launch strikes against Iran.
AFP further reported that National Counter Terrorism Policing head Lawrence Taylor noted that the investigators said they did not find any explosives in the vans, but instead “a quantity of petrol was recovered.”
Also Read | UK air base probe deepens: Reports suggest no explosives found at RAF, US claims foreign state involved
US-Iran war
The US Air Force's withdrawal of all bombers from the airbase in England comes while US President Donald Trump weighs options for the ongoing war in the Middle East.
According to AP, aviation watchers have observed several B-52 and B-1 bombers operating out of RAF Fairford since the conflict with Iran began.
Observers also noticed B-1 bombers fly out of the base on Sunday, the report added.
RAF Fairford is located 160 kilometres west of London and has been reportedly used by US bombers during conflicts in the Middle East.
(with inputs from agencies)