Two men charged with national security offenses following RAF Fairford incident

LONDON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two men have been charged with national security offenses following an incident involving Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford last month, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service announced on Tuesday.

US Air Force bombers sit on the tarmac at RAF Fairford base in Fairford, south-west England on September 28, 2026, a day after British counter-terrorism police were probing "a major" incident near the base. (File photo: AFP)

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, were both charged under National Security Act 2023 following a counter-terrorism policing investigation, according to the public prosecution authority.

Abdulkarim was charged with one offense of assisting a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities, and Essghir was charged with one offense of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

On Sept. 27, British police evacuated homes near RAF Fairford while army bomb-disposal experts were called in to examine several vehicles nearby. Seven people have since been arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and preparing an act of terror.

RAF Fairford is a British military airbase used by the U.S. Air Force. The Pentagon confirmed earlier this month that all U.S. bombers deployed to RAF Fairford had returned to their home stations in the United States.

Britain said that it was "highly likely" that Iran was involved in the RAF Fairford incident, but the accusation was rejected by Iran, who called it a "sordid plot to advance the anti-Iran campaign."