Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
British police on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old man in London on suspicion of a terror offence linked to a security incident at a US-run military airbase in England that authorities have connected to Iran.
The arrest is the seventh in the case involving RAF Fairford, about 160 kilometres west of London. The base was used by American bombers to strike Iran during this year’s war. Six other men have been released on bail while the investigation continues.
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Counter Terrorism Policing said the man, a British national, was detained in the Westminster area of central London on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said detectives “continue to pursue multiple lines of enquiry” and “remain committed to investigating all possible angles.”
Scores of residents were evacuated from their homes near the base early on September 27 as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts moved into the rural area. Police later said they had found a quantity of an accelerant — gasoline — in three vans linked to five suspects, but no explosives.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK sees “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident, though he did not say why or spell out the nature of the suspected plot. Iran has denied involvement, but it has previously said it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target.
The US moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford on Sunday, though it is not clear whether that was connected to the arrests. President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington on Monday that he did not want to tempt “the enemy” by keeping the bombers there. “We had a threat, and if we’re going to be threatened, we would just move them, and that sort of alleviates that,” he said. He added that the people who made the threat “would be linked to Iran”, but gave no details.
The case now involves seven arrests, an ongoing counterterrorism investigation and continued scrutiny of the suspected plot around RAF Fairford, with British authorities examining possible links to Iran.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
