Alleged Plan to Attack Belgian Premier Foiled
Belgian law enforcement have detained three suspects suspected of planning an assault on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors labeled the alleged scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the prime minister and other government officials.
During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the prime minister's private residence, authorities discovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the accused were planning to employ a UAV.
While the planned victims of the assault were not disclosed by name by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was among them.
"Reports of a intended strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the official wrote in a message on X on Thursday.
"This underscores that we are confronting a genuine extremist danger and that we have to keep watchful," he continued.
The three individuals arrested on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and engagement in the activities of a terrorist group all reside in the city of Antwerp, as stated by the legal authorities. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
As of late Thursday, one suspect was freed, while two others were still being questioned and expected to be presented before a court on Friday.
Legal authorities stated that the suspects were taken into custody after a judge authorized inspections of their homes in the city by law enforcement supported by bomb detection canines.
In the course of these searches that they located a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Searches also revealed a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.
The official stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases launched in the nation so far this year - exceeding the total number of investigations in 2024.
During the spring, five people were sentenced for a previous year's plan to attack De Wever while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
