Reported Plan to Target Belgian Premier Prevented
Belgium's law enforcement have taken into custody three people accused of conspiring to carry out an assault on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors characterized the suspected plan as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the PM and additional government officials.
During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the premier's personal dwelling, investigators uncovered a suspected IED and evidence that the individuals were preparing to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the prospective targets of the strike were not officially named by the federal prosecutors, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that the prime minister was one of them.
"Reports of a planned strike targeting PM Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister stated in a message on X on the day of the arrests.
"It highlights that we are confronting a serious terrorism risk and that we have to keep watchful," he added.
The three people taken into custody on charges of attempted terrorist murder and involvement in the operations of a terrorist group all live in the city of Antwerp, as stated by the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
As of the evening of the arrests, one person was let go, while the remaining two were under interrogation and scheduled to face a judge on the next day.
The prosecution revealed that the accused were detained after a judge directed searches of their homes in the city by officials assisted by bomb detection canines.
In the course of these searches that they located a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Investigations also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in Belgium this year - more than the total number of investigations in 2024.
Earlier this year, five suspects were convicted for a 2023 plot to target the prime minister while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.
