Reported Plan to Target Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted
Belgium's law enforcement have detained three suspects suspected of planning an strike on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors described the suspected scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and additional elected representatives.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's private residence, officials found a potential improvised explosive device and indications that the accused were planning to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the attack were not disclosed by name by the legal authorities, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was among them.
"Reports of a premeditated strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official stated in a post on X on Thursday.
"It emphasizes that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three individuals arrested on allegations of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the functions of a extremist organization all live in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
As of the evening of the arrests, one person was let go, while the other suspects were under interrogation and likely to appear in court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the accused were arrested after a judge directed raids of their dwellings in the urban area by officials backed by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these investigations that they found a item which appeared to be an IED, legal representative Ann Fransen announced at a news conference on Thursday.
Investigations also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a three-dimensional printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she added.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 extremist probes launched in Belgium in the current year - more than the overall count of instances in 2024.
During the spring, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike the prime minister while he was holding the position of the mayor of Antwerp.
