Alleged Plot to Attack Belgian PM Foiled
Belgium's authorities have detained three individuals suspected of conspiring to carry out an strike on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors labeled the suspected scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the premier and other elected representatives.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's home, investigators uncovered a alleged homemade bomb and indications that the individuals were intending to deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the prospective targets of the attack were not officially named by the federal prosecutors, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was among them.
"Reports of a planned attack directed toward Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official wrote in a message on online platforms on Thursday.
"This underscores that we are dealing with a serious terrorism risk and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.
The three suspects arrested on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the functions of a jihadist network all live in Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On Thursday evening, one suspect was released, while the remaining two were still being questioned and expected to appear in court on Friday.
Legal authorities said that the individuals were detained after a magistrate directed inspections of their residences in the urban area by law enforcement backed by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these investigations that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a news conference on the day of the events.
Investigations also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she added.
The prosecutor disclosed that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the nation in the current year - more than the full amount of instances in 2024.
During the spring, five individuals were convicted for a scheme last year to attack the prime minister while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.
