Reported Plot to Strike Belgian PM Foiled
Belgium's police have taken into custody three suspects accused of planning an strike on the nation's PM, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors characterized the suspected plan as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and other government officials.
During raids conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's home, officials found a potential IED and indications that the accused were preparing to use a drone.
While the prospective targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that de Wever was included in the targets.
"The news of a intended assault aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," Prevot wrote in a update on social media on Thursday.
"It emphasizes that we are facing a very real terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he added.
The three suspects detained on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the functions of a jihadist network all are based in Antwerp, according to the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
By Thursday evening, one person was freed, while the remaining two were undergoing questioning and likely to be presented before a court on the next day.
Federal prosecutors said that the accused were detained after a magistrate directed raids of their residences in the city by police officers supported by explosive sniffer dogs.
Throughout these searches that they discovered a item which closely resembled a homemade bomb, 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 signs of drone weaponization plans, she continued.
Fransen said that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in the country so far this year - surpassing the overall count of investigations in 2024.
Earlier this year, five individuals were sentenced for a 2023 plot to strike De Wever while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
