Suspected Plan to Attack Belgian Premier Foiled
Belgium's law enforcement have detained three suspects suspected of plotting an assault on the government's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors characterized the alleged scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and other government officials.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the premier's personal dwelling, officials found a suspected homemade bomb and indications that the accused were preparing to deploy a drone.
While the planned victims of the assault were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was one of them.
"Information of a intended assault directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," Prevot stated in a post on social media on the day of the arrests.
"It highlights that we are facing a genuine terrorism risk and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.
The three suspects detained on allegations of plotting a terrorist killing and engagement in the activities of a jihadist network all are based in the Antwerp region, according to the federal prosecutors. They were with years of birth in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
As of late Thursday, one of the individuals was released, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and expected to face a judge on Friday.
Federal prosecutors stated that the accused were detained after a magistrate authorized raids of their dwellings in the city by law enforcement backed by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these searches that they discovered a item which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a news conference on Thursday.
Searches also uncovered a container of metal spheres and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
The official stated that there had been 80 extremist probes launched in the country in the current year - more than the full amount of cases in 2024.
Earlier this year, five suspects were sentenced for a 2023 plot to target the prime minister while he was acting as the mayor of Antwerp.