Alleged Plan to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Foiled
Belgian authorities have detained three individuals suspected of planning an assault on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors characterized the reported scheme as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and additional politicians.
During investigations conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the premier's home, officials uncovered a potential homemade bomb and evidence that the individuals were preparing to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the prospective targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that de Wever was one of them.
"The news of a intended assault aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," Prevot stated in a update on X on the investigation day.
"This underscores that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he continued.
The three suspects taken into custody on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a jihadist network all are based in Antwerp, as stated by the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On Thursday evening, one person was freed, while the remaining two were still being questioned and scheduled to be presented before a court on the following day.
Legal authorities said that the suspects were detained after a court official ordered inspections of their homes in the urban area by law enforcement backed by explosive sniffer dogs.
Throughout these searches that they located a device which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", legal representative Ann Fransen announced at a press conference on that day.
Investigations also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
Fransen disclosed that there had been 80 terrorism investigations initiated in the nation so far this year - exceeding the full amount of cases in the previous year.
During the spring, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.