Reported Scheme to Attack Belgian PM Prevented
Belgium's authorities have detained three suspects suspected of planning an assault on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors described the reported scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the premier and additional politicians.
During raids conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the premier's home, authorities found a potential homemade bomb and proof that the suspects were preparing to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that de Wever was one of them.
"Information of a planned strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister wrote in a update on X on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are facing a serious terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three suspects taken into custody on allegations of plotting a terrorist killing and participation in the activities of a jihadist network all reside in the Antwerp region, according to the legal authorities. They were with years of birth in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
As of late Thursday, one suspect was let go, while the remaining two were under interrogation and likely to appear in court on the next day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the individuals were taken into custody after a judge authorized searches of their dwellings in the city by law enforcement backed by explosives-trained dogs.
It was during these investigations that they discovered a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a news conference on that day.
Investigations also found a "bag of steel balls" and a 3D printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she added.
The prosecutor said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in the nation in the current year - more than the overall count of cases in the previous year.
Earlier this year, five suspects were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike Belgium's leader while he was acting as Antwerp's mayor.
