LONDON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The British government said Monday that the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford used by the United States remains safe after Washington withdrew all of its bombers from the base.
A Downing Street spokesperson declined to comment on "foreign nations' military operations," but said the base was safe. The spokesperson cited Defence Secretary Wes Streeting as saying last week that Britain had "tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that he would not directly link an incident near the base last week to the decision to withdraw the bombers, describing movements at that time as routine exercises and redeployments.
Rubio said that the United States continued to have full confidence in the security of its bases, adding that British authorities had been cooperative following the incident.
The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that all U.S. bombers deployed to RAF Fairford had returned to their home stations in the United States.
About a dozen B-1 bombers had been stationed at the base before their departure.
The withdrawal came after six suspects were arrested in connection with a suspected attack on the base, which U.S. and British officials said had been foiled.
On Sept. 27, British police evacuated homes near RAF Fairford after several men were arrested on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act. Army bomb-disposal experts were also called in to examine a number of vehicles. ■
