Suspected Plan to Attack Belgian Premier Foiled
Belgium's police have taken into custody three individuals accused of planning an attack on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors described the alleged scheme as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the prime minister and other government officials.
During raids conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the prime minister's home, authorities discovered a potential improvised explosive device and evidence that the suspects were preparing to deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the strike were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was included in the targets.
"Reports of a intended assault directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official declared in a post on online platforms on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are facing a serious terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.
The three people taken into custody on allegations of plotting a terrorist killing and engagement in the activities of a jihadist network all live in the city of Antwerp, as stated by the legal authorities. They were had birth years in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
As of late Thursday, one suspect was released, while the remaining two were under interrogation and expected to appear in court on the next day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the suspects were detained after a court official authorized raids of their dwellings in the location by law enforcement assisted by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these raids that they discovered a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on that day.
Investigations also found a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
Fransen said that there had been 80 extremist probes initiated in the country so far this year - more than the total number of instances in 2024.
During the spring, five individuals were sentenced for a 2023 plot to attack the prime minister while he was acting as the city's chief executive.
