The Pentagon confirmed reports on Sunday that the United States has withdrawn all B-1 bomber planes from a UK air base one week after several men were arrested there on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.

A dozen B-1 bombers were stationed at RAF Fairford air base, located northwest of London. The planes had been used for US strikes on Iran.

"While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time, 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," a Pentagon spokesman wrote in an email.

Britain has "strong indications" that Iran was involved in a suspected plot targeting the base, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday. Iran said accusations linking Tehran to the alleged plan were baseless and summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the issue.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the aircraft were removed from the base amid security concerns over suspected terror plots against the facility.

US President Donald Trump said those involved in the plot had planned "big damage" while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also pointed to the "hands of a foreign actor."

Police were called to the base in southwest England on September 27 after a local farmer reported a group of men with several vans engaged in "suspicious" activity.

The scare forced evacuations at 85 homes near the airbase.

Speculation about the motives behind the incident ranged from terror threat to fuel thievery, as energy prices in the UK hit record highs this week.

Investigators said they did not find any explosives in the vans, but instead "a quantity of petrol was recovered," National Counter Terrorism Policing head Lawrence Taylor said.

The five London-based Britons arrested in the incident, all men in their mid-20s, were released on bail.

Britain gave Washington permission in March to use Fairford for "specific defensive operations into Iran," and US bombers and other planes have since been seen taking off and landing from the base.

Fairford is the only airbase on Britain's mainland used for this purpose. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong