UK authorities release 2 Latvian men on bail after arrest on RAF base

LONDON (AP) — Two Latvian men who were arrested inside the perimeter of a British air force base that houses U.S. and NATO intelligence personnel have been released on bail, U.K. counterterrorism police said Friday.

The base, RAF Molesworth, located 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of London, is operated by the U.S. Air Force and is home to the NATO Intelligence Fusion Center, which provides information to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, as well as intelligence personnel from the U.S. Africa Command.

Officers from the Ministry of Defense Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary began investigating the incident at about 10 p.m. Wednesday after an abandoned vehicle was found near the edge of the base. Police later found a small hole in the perimeter fence, and the suspects, both U.K. residents, were arrested at about 2 a.m. Thursday.

“Our investigation continues and we are working closely with colleagues from the Ministry of Defense Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary on this,” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement. “A key line of enquiry remains to identify any potential motivation behind why the men were at that location, and this includes whether it may be connected to any criminal activity.”

As part of the investigation, officers searched two properties in the Peterborough area, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of the base, police said.

Police said Thursday that there was no indication that the arrests were related to a recent security alert at RAF Fairford, from which the U.S. Air Force has launched strikes on Iran. All of the American bombers that had been deployed to Fairford returned to their home bases in the U.S. last weekend.