Suspected Plot to Target Belgian Prime Minister Prevented
Belgium's law enforcement have arrested three individuals allegedly involved in planning an attack on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors described the reported plot as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and fellow government officials.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the premier's home, investigators discovered a potential homemade bomb and evidence that the accused were preparing to deploy a drone.
While the prospective targets of the strike were not publicly identified by the prosecutor's office, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was included in the targets.
"Reports of a planned strike directed toward Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," Prevot wrote in a update on X on Thursday.
"It emphasizes that we are dealing with a serious extremist danger and that we have to stay alert," he added.
The three people detained on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and involvement in the activities of a terrorist group all are based in Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
On the evening of the arrests, one of the individuals was let go, while two others were still being questioned and expected to be presented before a court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors said that the individuals were detained after a judge directed searches of their dwellings in the city by police officers assisted by bomb detection canines.
In the course of these investigations that they located a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Searches also revealed a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
Fransen disclosed that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in Belgium so far this year - exceeding the overall count of cases in last year.
In April, five individuals were sentenced for a scheme last year to attack Belgium's leader while he was acting as the city's chief executive.
