- A UK bomb disposal robot fired at vans during a counter-terrorism operation near RAF Fairford
- Five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act near the RAF Fairford base
- A 400-metre cordon was established and 85 local households were evacuated during the lockdown
A bomb disposal robot belonging to the UK police went rogue last week and started firing at the doors of a van during a live counter-terrorism operation near a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in western England. Aerial footage of the incident, which went viral on social media, appeared to show the robot roaming between three white vans in woods near the Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, southwest England.
The rear doors of two of the vans can be seen open, with large black items scattered around. Media reports claimed the robot was firing shots at the vehicle in an attempt to force its way inside.
UK police have reportedly arrested five on suspicion of preparing a 'terrorist act' near the airbase. The US Air Force uses the base.
Police believed the incident had been "contained" and a 400 metre (1,300 feet) cordon had been put in place.
British counter-terrorism police said five men were arrested on suspicion of "preparing a terrorist act". The men were detained by armed officers in the early hours of Monday after a call to emergency services about three "suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards the air base", London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
"Counter Terrorism Policing can now confirm they are leading an investigation into an incident which took place overnight near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire," the Met statement added.
US Reaction
After the incident, US President Donald Trump told reporters that they had been "looking to do big damage" at the RAF Fairford air base.
"We had them under view for a long time, and we got them," he said, adding the US and UK had been working together on the incident.
In March, Britain's then prime minister Keir Starmer had granted permission for "defensive" US action against Iranian missile sites from two UK bases, including Fairford.
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being kept updated on the incident, a government spokesperson said.
The Lockdown
A local resident said that the base was on lockdown due to a "terror threat" that alerted emergency services after seeing three vans blocking the road and a large group of men wearing hoods and balaclavas.
She told the PA news agency she found it "astonishing" that it had been effectively down to a "plucky amateur" spotting unusual activity to raise the alarm.
Some 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were evacuated to a nearby leisure centre, and army bomb disposal experts were called in to examine three large white vans stopped on a rural road.
The Iran Link
The incident comes amid concerns about the actions of hostile foreign states. The UK's interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, has accused Iran and Russia of using proxies to carry out criminal activities on their behalf on UK territory.
Earlier this month, reports said British military sites had been targeted by drones more than 300 times over the past year.
