Reported Scheme to Attack Belgian Premier Prevented
Belgium's law enforcement have arrested three individuals accused of plotting an strike on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities labeled the suspected plan as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and fellow elected representatives.
During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, near the premier's personal dwelling, authorities discovered a potential IED and evidence that the accused were intending to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the attack were not officially named by the federal prosecutors, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was included in the targets.
"The news of a planned assault targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official wrote in a update on X on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are confronting a genuine terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three people detained on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the operations of a extremist organization all reside in Antwerp, per the legal authorities. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On the evening of the arrests, one suspect was freed, while the remaining two were undergoing questioning and expected to face a judge on Friday.
The prosecution revealed that the accused were taken into custody after a court official authorized searches of their homes in the urban area by law enforcement supported by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these raids that they discovered a object which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", legal representative Ann Fransen said at a press conference on that day.
Investigations also uncovered a container of metal spheres and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
The official stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases initiated in the nation this year - more than the full amount of investigations in the previous year.
During the spring, five people were found guilty for a 2023 plot to strike the prime minister while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
