Reported Plan to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted
Belgian authorities have arrested three individuals accused of plotting an assault on the government's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors characterized the suspected plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and additional elected representatives.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's personal dwelling, officials found a suspected improvised explosive device and indications that the accused were preparing to deploy a UAV.
While the prospective targets of the attack were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was among them.
"The news of a premeditated strike directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official stated in a post on X on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are facing a genuine terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three people taken into custody on charges of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the operations of a extremist organization all are based in the city of Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in the early 2000s.
On Thursday evening, one person was freed, while two others were under interrogation and likely to face a judge on Friday.
The prosecution said that the suspects were detained after a judge ordered inspections of their homes in the location by officials assisted by bomb detection canines.
It was during these raids that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Investigations also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a 3D printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.
The prosecutor disclosed that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases initiated in the nation this year - surpassing the overall count of instances in the previous year.
In April, five people were sentenced for a 2023 plot to strike the prime minister while he was serving as Antwerp's mayor.
