Trump calls arrests of UK men on suspicion of terror offenses ‘fantastic’

President Trump on Sunday praised law enforcement in the U.K. for its work in arresting five men suspected of planning a terror attack on a U.S. air base.

“The arrest in the U.K. was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job,” Trump told reporters in Chicago, according to NewsNation’s Libbey Dean .

The president added the federal government was investigating the men, who were “looking to do big damage to our fort.”

Trump added, “We had them under view for a long time and we got em.”

London’s Metropolitan Police said Sunday the five men were arrested on suspicion of planning the attack at RAF Fairford, a base that the U.K. owns and U.S. operates, as reported by The Associated Press.

The American military has launched strikes against Iranian missile sites from the base, under an agreement with former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The base is located in Gloucestershire, in southwest England.

London police said authorities received a call early Sunday morning local time regarding three suspicious vehicles traveling toward the base, per the AP. The nationalities of the arrested men are not public knowledge.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham thanked Gloucestershire Police, Counter Terrorism Policing and the U.K. armed forces “and all those working to keep the public safe” after the incident.

“I am especially grateful to those residents who have been asked to leave their homes while precautionary checks are carried out,” Burnham wrote Sunday on the social platform X.

“The safety and security of the public is our first priority, and I want people to know that we will always take every step necessary to protect our communities and keep our country safe,” the U.K. leader added, before urging the public “not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts.”