Alleged Scheme to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Prevented
Belgian authorities have taken into custody three people suspected of planning an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors labeled the reported plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and fellow government officials.
During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the premier's home, officials uncovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the individuals were intending to deploy a drone.
While the prospective targets of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot confirmed that de Wever was included in the targets.
"Reports of a planned strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," Prevot stated in a post on X on the day of the arrests.
"It emphasizes that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.
The three people arrested on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the functions of a jihadist network all live in the city of Antwerp, as stated by the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
On the evening of the arrests, one person was freed, while the remaining two were undergoing questioning and expected to be presented before a court on Friday.
Federal prosecutors stated that the suspects were detained after a court official authorized inspections of their homes in the urban area by law enforcement assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.
In the course of these investigations that they located a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a media briefing on Thursday.
Raids also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a three-dimensional printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
Fransen said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in the nation in the current year - exceeding the overall count of instances in last year.
In April, five suspects were sentenced for a 2023 plot to attack Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
