Alleged Plan to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted
Belgian authorities have detained three people suspected of plotting an assault on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors labeled the reported scheme as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the PM and other politicians.
During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the PM's private residence, officials uncovered a potential improvised explosive device and proof that the individuals were intending to employ a UAV.
While the planned victims of the strike were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was among them.
"The news of a premeditated strike directed toward PM Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," Prevot stated in a message on social media on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are facing a serious terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three suspects detained on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and participation in the operations of a extremist organization all are based in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
As of the evening of the arrests, one person was released, while two others were under interrogation and likely to face a judge on the next day.
The prosecution revealed that the suspects were detained after a magistrate directed searches of their dwellings in the urban area by officials supported by explosive sniffer dogs.
In the course of these investigations that they discovered a object which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a press conference on the day of the events.
Raids also revealed a container of metal spheres and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she noted.
The official disclosed that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the nation in the current year - exceeding the total number of investigations in 2024.
Earlier this year, five individuals were sentenced for a scheme last year to strike Belgium's leader while he was acting as the mayor of Antwerp.