Suspected Plot to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Prevented
Belgian police have taken into custody three suspects accused of plotting an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors characterized the alleged plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the prime minister and other elected representatives.
During searches conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, near the premier's personal dwelling, investigators discovered a alleged improvised explosive device and proof that the accused were planning to deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the intended targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that the prime minister was one of them.
"The news of a intended strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister declared in a message on social media on the investigation day.
"It emphasizes that we are facing a serious terrorism risk and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.
The three individuals taken into custody on suspicion of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the operations of a jihadist network all live in Antwerp, according to the legal authorities. They were with years of birth in the early 2000s.
As of the evening of the arrests, one of the individuals was let go, while the remaining two were still being questioned and likely to appear in court on the following day.
Legal authorities said that the individuals were arrested after a court official ordered inspections of their dwellings in the urban area by law enforcement assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.
Throughout these investigations that they located a item which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a press conference on that day.
Investigations also found a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
The official stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the country so far this year - surpassing the full amount of investigations in last year.
During the spring, five individuals were convicted for a 2023 plot to target Belgium's leader while he was acting as Antwerp's mayor.
