Reported Plot to Attack Belgian PM Thwarted
Belgian police have detained three suspects suspected of planning an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors labeled the alleged scheme as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and other politicians.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, near the PM's home, officials uncovered a alleged improvised explosive device and proof that the suspects were intending to employ a UAV.
While the planned victims of the strike were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that de Wever was one of them.
"Information of a planned strike targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," Prevot stated in a message on X on the investigation day.
"It emphasizes that we are confronting a serious extremist danger and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three people arrested on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and engagement in the activities of a extremist organization all are based in the city of Antwerp, according to the legal authorities. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On the evening of the arrests, one suspect was freed, while the remaining two were still being questioned and likely to appear in court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors said that the suspects were arrested after a court official ordered searches of their residences in the location by officials supported by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these raids that they discovered a item which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on that day.
Searches also revealed a container of metal spheres and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.
The official said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in the nation so far this year - exceeding the full amount of instances in 2024.
In April, five suspects were convicted for a scheme last year to strike the prime minister while he was serving as the city's chief executive.
