Alleged Plan to Strike Belgian Prime Minister Prevented
Belgian police have detained three suspects suspected of conspiring to carry out an strike on the country's PM, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors characterized the suspected plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and other politicians.
During raids conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the premier's private residence, investigators uncovered a potential homemade bomb and indications that the individuals were preparing to use a drone.
While the intended targets of the attack were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was among them.
"The news of a planned strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," Prevot declared in a post on online platforms on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are facing a serious terrorism risk and that we have to keep watchful," he added.
The three individuals detained on charges of plotting a terrorist killing and engagement in the functions of a jihadist network all are based in Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
As of Thursday evening, one suspect was let go, while two others were still being questioned and expected to face a judge on the following day.
The prosecution stated that the accused were arrested after a magistrate directed inspections of their dwellings in the urban area by police officers backed by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these searches that they located a object which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a press conference on the day of the events.
Investigations also found a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.
The official said that there had been 80 extremist probes initiated in the country this year - exceeding the total number of instances in 2024.
During the spring, five suspects were convicted for a previous year's plan to attack the prime minister while he was acting as Antwerp's mayor.
