Old Weston (United Kingdom) (AFP) – UK police said Thursday they had arrested two Latvians inside a military base in southeast England housing US and NATO intelligence hubs after the perimeter fence was breached. The incident comes days after another occurrence near a different military base in southwest England.
Counter-terrorism police reported that the two men, aged 36 and 32, were arrested at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Molesworth base in Cambridgeshire, southeast England. They are being held on suspicion of trespass, criminal damage, and entering a prohibited place “for a purpose prejudicial to the UK,” authorities stated. Both individuals are Latvian nationals residing in the UK.
The arrests follow a major incident at RAF Fairford on September 27 that resulted in the detention of seven men, all in their 20s. Those individuals have since been released on bail, and one is a dual UK-Iranian national. Following that event, which UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham noted had “strong indications” of Iranian involvement, the United States withdrew its B-1 bombers stationed at the Fairford base.
“At this stage, there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week,” said counter-terrorism policing head Helen Flanagan. However, she added that the authorities were “keeping an open mind” in their investigation.
RAF Molesworth, formerly a World War II airbase, is currently a non-flying facility managed by the US Air Force. It also hosts the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre, which has a workforce of over 200, and Washington’s Europe and Africa intelligence operations, according to the CIA website. Police reported that a security patrol spotted an abandoned vehicle near the Molesworth base and found a “small breach” before arresting the men in the early hours of Thursday.
A US European Command spokesman indicated they were “aware of the reports” but declined to “discuss specific force protection measures.” Concerns have been raised about the security of military bases following multiple incidents at various facilities.
“We remain highly vigilant to potential threats against defence sites and work closely with the police and our allies to keep them secure,” stated the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). The nature of the threat at RAF Fairford is still unclear, but police were called to the site after three white vans were spotted acting “suspiciously” in its vicinity. A bomb disposal unit was deployed, and a nearby village was evacuated, but police found no explosives at the scene.
Last June, pro-Palestinian activists broke into another airbase, RAF Brize Norton in southern England, and posted a video showing them spraying planes with red paint.
© 2024 AFP
