U.K. police detail terror suspects cuffed near U.S. bombers’ base

British Counter Terrorism Police said Monday that five terror suspects arrested the previous day were British citizens who lived in London. Police did not name the individuals, all of whom were men, aged 23-25. Police on Sunday arrested the men near the RAF Fairford military base in Gloucestershire. They were suspected of violating explosives laws and preparing a terrorist act, according to police.

The base is home to American bombers under the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. The United States carried out some of its strikes on Iran from that base, according to the Associated Press.

Police arrested the men after receiving a report of three vehicles traveling toward the air base at around 12:45 a.m. Officers blocked off a roughly 1,300-foot perimeter around the vehicles while the British army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit examined their contents. Police also evacuated about 85 nearby households as a precaution, they said. Police on Monday said the men remained in custody and the investigation was in its early stages.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the suspects were planning to greatly damage the base. He said the U.S. government worked with British police, and that the suspects had been on their radar for a while before the arrest.