Suspected Plan to Target Belgian PM Prevented
Belgian police have taken into custody three suspects suspected of plotting an assault on the country's PM, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors labeled the alleged plan as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the PM and fellow elected representatives.
During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, near the PM's personal dwelling, authorities uncovered a potential homemade bomb and proof that the individuals were planning to deploy a drone.
While the intended targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the federal prosecutors, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that de Wever was included in the targets.
"The news of a premeditated assault directed toward Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official stated in a message on online platforms on Thursday.
"It emphasizes that we are facing a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.
The three individuals arrested on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and participation in the activities of a extremist organization all live in the Antwerp region, according to the prosecutor's office. They were born in the early 2000s.
On Thursday evening, one person was let go, while the remaining two were undergoing questioning and expected to be presented before a court on Friday.
Federal prosecutors stated that the individuals were arrested after a magistrate authorized searches of their residences in the location by police officers backed by bomb detection canines.
In the course of these investigations that they located a object which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", legal representative Ann Fransen stated at a press conference on Thursday.
Investigations also found a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.
Fransen stated that there had been 80 extremist probes launched in Belgium this year - surpassing the total number of instances in 2024.
In April, five individuals were found guilty for a previous year's plan to target Belgium's leader while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
