Pakistan, Sept. 28 -- British counter-terrorism police were on Sunday probing a "major" incident near a base used by the US air force after arresting five men on suspicion of "preparing a terrorist act", police said.

In March, then prime minister Keir Starmer granted permission for "defensive" US action against Iranian missile sites from two UK bases including Fairford.

Armed officers detained the group in the early hours of Sunday after a call to emergency services about three "suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards the airbase", London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The suspects were initially held near the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford air base in Gloucestershire, southwest England, on suspicion of ...