Two Latvian men were arrested Thursday inside the perimeter of a British air base used by the United States and are being investigated on suspicion of a national security offense, according to counterterrorism police.
The two men, aged 36 and 32, are Latvian citizens living in Britain, according to the police statement. They were arrested at around 2 a.m. on Thursday after being discovered inside the perimeter of the base, R.A.F. Molesworth, about 70 miles north of London, in Cambridgeshire.
Their ability to enter the base will underline concerns about security at military installations operated by the United States inside Britain and other countries, which have been on heightened alert after officials in Britain, the United States, Israel and Germany received evidence of threats against the bases from Iran.
Last month, five British men were arrested on suspicion of a plot targeting R.A.F. Fairford, the air base used by United States bombers in some strikes against Iran during their eight-month war, although they have not been charged and the details of the incident remain murky.
The British police said Thursday that they do not believe that the arrests at R.A.F. Molesworth, which is about two hours north of London, are connected to the incident at Fairford.
“We’re very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at R.A.F. Fairford last week,” said Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, in the statement. She added: “A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage.”
In Fairford, the five men arrested on Sept. 27 were released on bail the next day. Since then, two more men have been arrested in connection with the case and later freed on bail, including one man who was released on Thursday.
The police said that the investigation at Molesworth began at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, when security patrols from the ministry of defense police found an abandoned vehicle just outside the perimeter of the base.
Additional police officers arrived and a “small breach” of the perimeter fence was discovered. The two Latvian men were located and arrested inside the perimeter at around 2 a.m., the statement said.
The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespassing, but they were subsequently rearrested on suspicion of a national security offense, “namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the U.K.,” the police said.
After the abandoned vehicle was taken to a police location, a specialist explosives team was deployed to carry out checks on the vehicle and a cordon in the area was put in place. The explosives team ultimately found nothing of concern, the police said.
Both men remain in custody.
U.S. European Command said in a statement it would not discuss “specific force protection measures” but said it continued to “assess the threat environment surrounding our installations and take appropriate actions to protect our people, our platforms, and the bases where our forces operate from.”
The statement added: “We would also express our gratitude to the U.K. for the close partnership with U.S. Forces on matters of security.”
Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.
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