Farmer's wife foils terror attack at base – resonant details (VIDEO) | Watch

British counter-terrorism units and MI5 are investigating an attempted large-scale sabotage at RAF Fairford airbase. A vigilant local farmer's wife, returning home at night, noticed three suspicious vans and masked individuals, then called the police. The arriving patrol detained five suspects, who were charged with possession of explosives and preparing a terrorist attack. The main theory is an Iranian link.

An attempted large-scale sabotage at a strategically important military facility—the Royal Air Force's RAF Fairford base in Gloucestershire—was thwarted thanks to the vigilance of a local resident. Returning home late at night from a party with her husband and a friend around 1:30 AM, the woman noticed three large white vans completely blocking the road. One of the vehicles was disguised as a fuel tanker from the FUEL 2YOU service, but had an obvious defect in the phone number displayed. Suspecting something was wrong, the driver decided to turn around, and at that moment a group of young people in balaclavas rushed out of the darkness and scattered upon seeing the car headlights. The woman's attempts to alert the airbase's duty service were unsuccessful—no one answered the calls. She then dialed the emergency number 999 and notified neighbors via a local chat. An armed police patrol arrived 25 minutes later and detained five suspects, who were later charged with possession of explosives and preparing a terrorist attack. In the morning, about 85 local families were urgently evacuated, and bomb disposal experts began examining the vehicles. The counter-terrorism police and MI5 joined the investigation, considering an Iranian link as the priority theory. Donald Trump's resonant claim that the perpetrators had been under surveillance for a long time contrasts with reality, as the actual foiling of the attack was only due to a random late-night drive by an ordinary local resident.