A counter-terrorism operation near RAF Fairford in the UK was mired in confusion on Tuesday after police released five suspects on bail, prompting concern and surprise from the US president and secretary of state, The Guardian reported.
Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he would not have released the suspects on bail. “We know everything about them. We would not have released them.”
Asked whether the case was linked to Iran, Trump said: “It might be.”
Pressed to give details, he said: “I’d rather not. I mean, I know the answer, I could be very specific, but I’d rather not say. I would not have released them.”
Likewise, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said a lot of people were “disturbed that some of these people [being investigated] have been released on bail”.
“What could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News on Monday evening, adding that it “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”.
Rubio provided no evidence for his claims, The Guardian report said.
British police arrested five men on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in explosives and terrorism-related offenses, following a report that three vans were heading towards the military airport, which was used to launch strikes on Iran.
British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said on Monday that it was “absolutely unwise” to speculate on the motives of individuals arrested near the British airbase, according to a report.
London’s Metropolitan Police, which takes the lead on potential terrorist activities, said police received a call at 12:45 a.m. related to the three suspicious vehicles that appeared to be traveling toward RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned base that is operated by the U.S. under an agreement dating back to the Cold War.
The Five young British men arrested on explosives and terror charges were released on bail Monday, and counterterror detectives said they were investigating “multiple lines of inquiry,” including whether there is a link to Iran.
(With inputs from AP)