Two Latvians Arrested After Breach At US Intel Hub Deepens UK Sabotage Concerns

Original article here

Days after the US pulled all its Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic bombers from Britain’s RAF Fairford air base over mounting security concerns following a suspected terrorist plot against the base late last month, another incident has occurred, this time at a critical US and NATO intelligence hub.

Bloomberg reports that British police arrested two Latvian nationals on suspicion of trespassing and national security offenses at RAF Molesworth, located in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England.

More color from the outlet:

Officers found a “small breach” of the perimeter fence, counterterror police said in a statement.

The men, both in their 30s, were arrested late Wednesday after security patrols near the air base, which houses the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center and supports US European Command, AFRICOM and NATO coordination.

“The incursion will deepen scrutiny of the security at airbases in Britain that are used by US forces, as the UK warns of an escalation in sabotage plots involving so-called proxies directed by Iran and Russia,” Bloomberg noted.

So far, British police have found no connection between the incident at RAF Molesworth and the one at RAF Fairford. Police have not established or officially released a motive.

The outlet quoted Richard Knighton, the head of Britain’s armed forces, who said earlier today that all of the country’s bases were safe.

“We take the security of all of our bases in Europe enormously seriously,” Knighton said, calling the US move an “operational decision.” He added that the UK has “enormously close relationships from an intelligence perspective and operationally with the US, and that’s what gives me confidence around the safety and security of our bases here.”