Suspected Plan to Strike Belgian PM Prevented
Belgium's law enforcement have detained three individuals accused of planning an assault on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors described the alleged plan as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the prime minister and other politicians.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, near the premier's personal dwelling, investigators discovered a potential IED and indications that the suspects were planning to employ a drone.
While the planned victims of the attack were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot confirmed that Belgium's leader was among them.
"Information of a premeditated assault targeting Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister declared in a message on online platforms on the investigation day.
"It highlights that we are dealing with a serious terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he added.
The three suspects detained on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the operations of a extremist organization all are based in the Antwerp region, according to the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
As of late Thursday, one person was let go, while the remaining two were still being questioned and expected to be presented before a court on Friday.
The prosecution said that the individuals were detained after a judge directed searches of their dwellings in the urban area by officials assisted by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these investigations that they found a device which appeared to be an IED, legal representative Ann Fransen announced at a press conference on that day.
Investigations also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
The prosecutor said that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the country in the current year - surpassing the total number of investigations in 2024.
During the spring, five individuals were found guilty for a previous year's plan to attack the prime minister while he was acting as Antwerp's mayor.
