Police evacuated residents from several homes near an air base in England on Sunday and arrested several men on suspicion of explosives-related offences, ABC News reported.
Gloucestershire Police said residents from “a number of properties” in Whelford, western England, had been moved to a nearby leisure centre. The force said the situation had been “contained.”
The area is located near RAF Fairford, a base that has been used by US forces for limited strikes during the war with Iran. Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, the UK government permitted the US military to use the Fairford base for strikes against Iranian missile sites.
Police said several men had been detained on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, while Army bomb-disposal experts were examining several vehicles as part of the investigation.
The force did not confirm whether the arrests were connected to the nearby air base.
“A cordon is currently in place, but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained,” police said.
