Suspected Scheme to Attack Belgian PM Foiled
Belgium's police have detained three individuals accused of planning an attack on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities described the suspected scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and fellow government officials.
During searches conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the PM's personal dwelling, officials uncovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the accused were planning to deploy a drone.
While the prospective targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the federal prosecutors, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that de Wever was one of them.
"Information of a planned attack targeting PM Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister wrote in a post on online platforms on the day of the arrests.
"It emphasizes that we are confronting a serious terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he continued.
The three individuals arrested on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a extremist organization all reside in the city of Antwerp, according to the legal authorities. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On late Thursday, one person was freed, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and likely to face a judge on the following day.
Legal authorities said that the accused were detained after a magistrate directed raids of their dwellings in the city by officials backed by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these searches that they located a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on that day.
Raids also revealed a collection of ball bearings and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she noted.
Fransen said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in Belgium in the current year - more than the total number of investigations in last year.
In April, five people were found guilty for a 2023 plot to attack the prime minister while he was acting as the city's chief executive.
