British prosecutors charged two men, Junead Ahmed Khan, 24, and his uncle Shazid Ahmed Khan, 22 for developing acts of terrorism against United States military personnel overseas in central Britain on Tuesday. Both men planned to join Islamic state militants in Syria according to a Reuters report. 

According to Deborah Walsh, Deputy Head ofCounter Terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, “It is alleged thatJunead Khan andShazib Khan had been planning on travelling to Syria to join the proscribed organisation Islamic State in Levant (ISIL),” she said. Additionally, she stated, “It is further alleged that Junead Khan was planning a terrorist attack on U.S. military personnel in the UK and he has been charged with an additional terrorism offence to reflect this.”

The men faced London’s Westminister to await sentencing and remain in custody until their next appearance on August 10th at the Old Bailey.

No further details have been released.

Festivities were planned to celebrate U.S. Independence Day over the July 4 holiday at RAF Feltwell, a housing community for U.S. Air Force personnel situated about 6o miles from Luton, when they were cancelled upon rumours of a threatening attack.

An anonymous source with the U.S. government confirmed that the attack could have been executed over the weekend.

It’s also been hypothesized that the two men had connections to operatives within the U.S. borders and Islamic State supporters. Investigators suspect that the alleged U.K. plot aligns with a typical Islamic State model, under which leaders have invoked inspired militants outside IS controlled zones to attack local targets with their own conceived sources.

“While we were certainly looking forward to this year’s celebration and hosting the U.S. and UK communities at RAF Feltwell, we have to put public safety first and foremost,” said Colonel David Eaglin, the vice commander of the U.S. 48th Fighter Wing in response.