Confusion around the UK bomb plotting probe

Confusion around the UK bomb plotting probe

Five men were arrested Sunday in connection with a possible terrorist attack at a U.K. air base operated by the U.S. military, but a day later they were released on bail.

All five men, identified as British nationals in their 20s from London, were arrested Sunday on explosives and terror charges near RAF Fairford air base in southern England after three vans were spotted outside the military installation.

But British authorities announced Monday the men had been released on bail even as they remain under investigation.

“I would’ve said don’t let them have bail. … I’m surprised that they released them. I wouldn’t have done that,” President Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office.

The head of Britain’s counterterrorism police told reporters that detectives were investigating the incident “from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state .”

He did not say whether investigators had found explosives in any of the three vans and did not take questions.

Trump on Sunday insisted Washington and London had worked together in arresting the suspects, who he said had been “under view for a long time” and intended to do “big damage” to the air base.

On Monday the president repeated those claims that the U.K. worked with the U.S. “very closely” in apprehending the men and that “we know everything about them,” even as British authorities said the suspects were arrested after a farmer called police over suspicious vehicles near the base late Saturday night.

Asked if the incident was connected to Iran, Trump replied, “Might be,” but he declined to elaborate.

Iran has denied its involvement in the incident, releasing a statement through its London Embassy saying it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” around the event.

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