Reported by: Dmytro Hubenko with dpa, AFP, AP | Edited by: Karl Sexton
Two Latvian men have been arrested for breaching the perimeter fence at an RAF base used by the US military, UK police said Thursday.
The two UK residents, aged 36 and 32, were arrested by counterterrorism police at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Molesworth base in southeastern England, 70 miles north of London.
Police said they were being held on suspicion of trespassing, causing criminal damage and entering a prohibited place “for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.”
A former World War II airbase, RAF Molesworth, is now a non-flying facility that is managed by the US Air Force.
It houses intelligence personnel from US Africa Command and the NATO Intelligence Fusion Center, which provides information to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
The incident comes after several men were arrested amid an alleged terror plot at another UK air base last month.
What do we know about the incident at RAF Molesworth?
According to a statement from Counter Terrorism Policing London, officers from the Ministry of Defense Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary began investigating an incident at approximately 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday after an abandoned vehicle was found near the edge of the base.
Police later discovered a small hole in the perimeter fence and arrested the two suspects at around 2 a.m. on Thursday.
The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a prohibited site and criminal damage. They were later arrested on charges of entering a prohibited place with the intent to harm the UK.
Both men remain in police custody. Due to the nature of the offense, the matter is being investigated by counterterrorism police.
Is this related to the RAF Fairford incident?
On September 27, authorities discovered three suspicious vans near RAF Fairford, a British air base from which US bombers launched strikes against Iran. This triggered a widespread investigation that led to seven arrests.
Last weekend, the US Air Force brought home all the bombers deployed to the base.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the counterterrorism unit, said that while UK authorities are “very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites”, there is “nothing to suggest” the incident at RAF Molesworth is related to what happened at RAF Fairford last week, although she added that the investigation was still in its “very early stages.”
The US European Command acknowledged the incident but declined to comment on specific force protection measures.
(Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.)
