UK police arrest five men on suspicion of terror offenses near air base used by US forces

UK police arrested five men close to an airbase in England that is used by US long-range bombers on suspicion of terror and explosives offenses.

Army bomb disposal units are at the scene while dozens of houses nearby have been evacuated as a precaution with the investigation ongoing.

The arrests were made after information was received from residents in the area soon after midnight, according to Richard Ocone, a senior detective in the county of Gloucestershire. The men have not been identified and no clue has been given about a possible motive.

A senior officer in Counter Terrorism Policing, Vicki Evans, confirmed: “We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody. As you would expect we are working closely with our partners to understand the circumstances of the incident.”

On top of the suspected explosives offenses, the men were “further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act,” according to counter-terrorism police. Counter-terrorism laws allow UK police to hold suspects for up to 14 days before they are charged.

US President Donald Trump called the arrests “fantastic,” saying the US and the UK had the men under investigation for “a long time.”

“Working with Britain, it was an amazing job,” Trump told reporters in Chicago. “They were looking to do big damage to our fort and working with the British worked out great.”

“We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” he said.

Aerial footage appears to show a bomb disposal robot roaming between three white vans in woods near the base. The rear doors of two of the vans were open and large black items could be seen scattered around.

The Daily Mail published video purporting to show several individuals under arrest at the scene in the early hours of Sunday, local time. They appear to be shirtless with their arms behind their backs.

A local resident told CNN that she heard helicopters over the village at 2am, and bomb squad vehicles arrived about an hour later.

Whelford is close to the Royal Air Force base at Fairford which has been used by US B-1 bombers involved in targeting Iran and is a forward operating location for US Global Strike Command, which is tasked with managing long-distance strikes.