Alleged Plot to Strike Belgian Premier Foiled
Belgian police have taken into custody three people suspected of plotting an attack on the country's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors described the alleged plan as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the premier and fellow elected representatives.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's home, authorities discovered a suspected homemade bomb and indications that the individuals were intending to deploy a UAV.
While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was among them.
"The news of a planned strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister wrote in a post on social media on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are facing a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three suspects taken into custody on charges of attempted terrorist murder and involvement in the operations of a jihadist network all reside in the Antwerp region, according to the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
On late Thursday, one suspect was released, while two others were still being questioned and scheduled to appear in court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the accused were taken into custody after a court official ordered raids of their homes in the urban area by police officers supported by explosive sniffer dogs.
It was during these investigations that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on Thursday.
Raids also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.
The prosecutor disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes opened in the nation in the current year - surpassing the full amount of investigations in 2024.
In April, five suspects were found guilty for a previous year's plan to attack the prime minister while he was acting as the city's chief executive.
