Alleged Plot to Attack Belgian PM Thwarted
Belgian police have arrested three people suspected of plotting an strike on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors characterized the reported plot as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and additional politicians.
During searches conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the premier's home, authorities discovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the suspects were preparing to use a UAV.
While the prospective targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the legal authorities, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot confirmed that de Wever was among them.
"Reports of a planned strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister declared in a message on X on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are dealing with a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three suspects taken into custody on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the operations of a extremist organization all are based in Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
As of Thursday evening, one of the individuals was freed, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and scheduled to be presented before a court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the accused were detained after a court official ordered searches of their dwellings in the urban area by officials supported by bomb detection canines.
Throughout these raids that they found a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, legal representative Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on that day.
Searches also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she noted.
The official disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes opened in Belgium so far this year - more than the full amount of cases in 2024.
During the spring, five individuals were found guilty for a 2023 plot to strike De Wever while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
