Suspected Plan to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Foiled
Belgium's police have arrested three suspects suspected of plotting an attack on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities labeled the alleged scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and fellow elected representatives.
During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, near the premier's home, investigators discovered a alleged IED and indications that the individuals were planning to deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the attack were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was among them.
"The news of a premeditated attack aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official stated in a message on social media on the day of the arrests.
"It highlights that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he added.
The three individuals detained on charges of plotting a terrorist killing and engagement in the functions of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, per the federal prosecutors. They were born in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
By the evening of the arrests, one of the individuals was released, while the remaining two were still being questioned and likely to appear in court on Friday.
Federal prosecutors said that the suspects were taken into custody after a magistrate ordered searches of their homes in the urban area by law enforcement supported by explosives-trained dogs.
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 Thursday.
Investigations also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a 3D printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she noted.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in Belgium this year - surpassing the overall count of investigations in 2024.
During the spring, five people were sentenced for a previous year's plan to attack De Wever while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
