Cops say ‘attempted abduction’ of RAF Marham serviceman may not have actually been terrorists but ROAD RAGE instead
Two men of Middle Eastern appearance – one wielding a knife – tried to drag him into a car, leading to fears of a Lee Rigby copycat attack
AN attempted abduction of an RAF airman at an RAF base linked to suspected terrorists may actually have been a road rage incident, detectives have said.
Two men of Middle Eastern appearance – one wielding a knife – attacked the married serviceman near RAF Marham, Norfolk, and tried to drag him to a nearby car before he headbutted one and got away.
Police feared it was a failed Lee Rigby copycat attack, but a detective has now revealed the ambush on July 20 might be "quite possibly unrelated to terrorism" and may have been a robbery or road rage incident.
The man, in his late twenties, was grabbed by a man who tried to drag him towards a nearby car at 3.10pm.
He told police he knocked the first attacker to the ground and an accomplice, carrying a knife, helped him up before both men fled.
Norfolk Police said an investigation had cost around £71,000 to date with officers analysing more than 500 calls from the public and hours of CCTV footage, with a dozen officers remained "dedicated to this investigation".
Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team (MIT), said: "The work the team has carried out over the last five months has been very productive - particularly in identifying the most important drivers of the vehicles seen in the CCTV footage we released.
"While I continue to maintain an open mind, the inquiries completed so far lead me to believe that the motive for this attack is quite possibly unrelated to terrorism.
"While it is very easy to understand how the incident could be perceived as being terrorist-related - particularly from the victim's perspective - there are good reasons to believe that there is another explanation for it.
"What has been established through the painstaking CCTV work is that something definitely happened to the victim while he was out on his run in the area where he reported being attacked.
"Our primary task is to establish what exactly the motivation for that was and we are revisiting the possible motives of robbery, road rage to name two.
"Certainly, I am becoming increasingly persuaded that the solution to this mystery will be found locally."
He said he remained confident the case would be solved, with a Crimewatch appeal earlier this year leading to 20 new leads.
The force said at the time it was possible the suspects were part of a larger team and may have been "ghosted" out of the country.
Two weeks later, "suspicious" looking men were spotted lurking outside Aldershot Army base, sparking fears of more abduction attempts.
Police said the jogger was on a route used regularly by personnel at the base, but was wearing headphones at the time so did not hear what the first attacker said to him.
The suspects then fled in a dark-coloured people carrier, which police are still trying to trace.
They also appealed for another jogger spotted nearby on the popular running route to come forward with any information.
The first suspect was described as aged between 20-30, around 6ft tall, dark-skinned and with an athletic but stocky build.
He had dark hair and a well-groomed beard and wore dark casual clothing.
The other man was younger than the first suspect and had a slimmer build.
He had a similar skin tone, was about 5ft 10in and clean shaven with short, dark hair. He wore a white T-shirt and dark shorts.
Police feared they were hiding out near the base in Marham as they plotted to carry out a copycat of the attack on Lee Rigby.
The fusilier was murdered by two jihadists in 2013 outside his barracks in Woolwich, south-east London.
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