No explosives but questions remain after arrests at US-run air base in UK

<p>A surprise decision by the UK's counterterrorism police to release five suspects on bail during an investigation into a suspected bomb plot at a US-operated air force base in England has deepened questions and uncertainty about the incident.</p> <p>Police confirmed that no explosives were found in three vans linked to the suspects, and said <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/29/suspects-in-alleged-uk-air-base-terror-plot-bailed-as-police-probe-iran-link/" target="_blank">the decision to grant bail</a> was grounded in “experience and strategy".</p> <p>US President Donald Trump told reporters he was surprised that five young British men who were arrested on Monday NZ time on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences near the RAF Fairford base were freed a day later.</p> <p>“I wouldn’t have done that,” Trump said.</p> <p>The base has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including this year’s war with Iran.