The US Air Force has pulled its bombers from RAF Fairford following an investigation into an alleged planned terror attack at the base.
The bombers were redeployed back to their home bases in the US, according to a Pentagon official who was not authorised to discuss sensitive military movements and spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
Aviation watchers such as the Military Air Tracking Alliance have observed dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operating out of RAF Fairford since the opening days of the Iran war. Observers noticed a host of B-1 bombers flying out of the base in Gloucestershire on Sunday.
A Pentagon spokesperson said: “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 dual British-Iranian national was arrested in central London last week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, following a security incident at RAF Fairford in late September. In total, six people have been taken into custody and then released on bail during the investigation.
British authorities have linked the incident to Tehran. Iran has denied involvement.
RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160 kilometres) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.
The US military still maintains a sizeable presence in the Middle East. On Thursday, a US official said the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier as well as the USS Malkin Island amphibious readiness group – a group of ships that together carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines – were heading for the region. The official said the move could result in three carriers being in the region as early as the end of October.
