Five men arrested at UK airbase released on bail

The five British men arrested over a suspected terrorist plot near an RAF base in Fairford , England have been released on bail in an unexpected development after they were detained by armed police early on Sunday.

Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terror Policing for the UK , said on Monday afternoon that despite being released on bail, the men continued to be suspects.

“They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others,” Taylor said. “They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”

The base at Fairford belongs to the UK’s RAF but has been used by the US Air Force to conduct what it classes as defensive strikes on Iran .

Taylor acknowledged the “significant interest” in whether the “current geopolitical context” had a bearing on the incident.