Reported Plot to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Foiled
Belgian authorities have taken into custody three suspects suspected of planning an assault on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors labeled the suspected plot as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the prime minister and other politicians.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the PM's home, officials discovered a suspected improvised explosive device and proof that the individuals were planning to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the assault were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was one of them.
"Reports of a planned attack targeting Premier Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official wrote in a update on online platforms on the day of the arrests.
"It highlights that we are confronting a very real terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he continued.
The three individuals detained on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and participation in the activities of a terrorist group all are based in the Antwerp region, per the legal authorities. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
As of late Thursday, one of the individuals was freed, while two others were under interrogation and scheduled to be presented before a court on Friday.
Legal authorities revealed that the accused were taken into custody after a magistrate ordered inspections of their residences in the location by police officers assisted by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these searches that they discovered a device which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", lead prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a news conference on the day of the events.
Investigations also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.
The official said that there had been 80 extremist probes initiated in Belgium so far this year - exceeding the overall count of instances in 2024.
During the spring, five individuals were found guilty for a scheme last year to target Belgium's leader while he was acting as the mayor of Antwerp.