British authorities evacuated homes in the western England town of Whelford early Sunday after arresting several men in connection with a suspected explosives plot, triggering what police called a “major incident” near a key military base used by American troops.
Details were scarce Sunday morning, but police in Gloucestershire said they were searching vehicles in the area for explosives.
Whelford is about a mile from RAF Fairford, a military installation that U.S. forces have used to launch airstrikes against Iran. The base hosts several key U.S. military units.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force said its personnel based at RAF Fairford “remain vigilant” but would not discuss specific force protection measures for security reasons.
“We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families,” the spokesperson told The Associated Press.
Gloucestershire police did not specify how many people were evacuated.
“The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles,” local police said in a brief statement. “A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained.”
Britain’s Defense Secretary Wes Streeting thanked the emergency and specialist teams who responded to the incident.
“We can be reassured that this is being dealt with,” Mr. Streeting said.
The incident comes at a sensitive moment in the U.S.-Iran conflict and amid recent threats by Tehran to expand the geographic scope of the battlefield.
Iranian Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, a key figure in the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said last week his country is prepared to employ new tactics if President Trump launches airstrikes on Iran.
“If another aggression takes place, there will certainly be significant changes in our defense and our counterattack,” Gen. Mohebbi said, according to the country’s state-run Fars News Agency.
“We will definitely change the geography of the war,” he said, according to English-language translations of his comments.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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