Reported Plot to Strike Belgian PM Foiled
Belgium's authorities have detained three people allegedly involved in planning an attack on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors labeled the suspected plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the PM and additional government officials.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the premier's personal dwelling, investigators discovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the individuals were planning to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the intended targets of the attack were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was included in the targets.
"Reports of a planned attack directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister stated in a post on online platforms on the day of the arrests.
"It highlights that we are confronting a very real terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three suspects detained on allegations of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the activities of a extremist organization all live in Antwerp, as stated by the federal prosecutors. They were with years of birth in the early 2000s.
On Thursday evening, one person was freed, while the remaining two were under interrogation and scheduled to appear in court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors stated that the accused were taken into custody after a judge authorized inspections of their homes in the location by officials assisted by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these searches that they discovered a device which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", legal representative Ann Fransen said at a press conference on the day of the events.
Searches also found a container of metal spheres and a three-dimensional printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she noted.
Fransen said that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the country in the current year - surpassing the full amount of instances in 2024.
In April, five individuals were sentenced for a previous year's plan to target De Wever while he was serving as the city's chief executive.
