Suspected Plot to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Foiled

Belgium's law enforcement have arrested three individuals suspected of planning an attack on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.

Legal authorities labeled the suspected plan as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and other politicians.

During searches conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, near the premier's personal dwelling, investigators discovered a alleged IED and proof that the accused were planning to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.

While the planned victims of the strike were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was among them.

"The news of a intended strike targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister stated in a update on X on the day of the arrests.

"It highlights that we are dealing with a very real terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he continued.

The three individuals arrested on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the activities of a terrorist group all are based in the Antwerp region, according to the federal prosecutors. They were born in three different years between 2001 and 2007.

By late Thursday, one person was let go, while the other suspects were still being questioned and expected to be presented before a court on the following day.

Legal authorities stated that the suspects were detained after a magistrate directed inspections of their residences in the urban area by police officers supported by explosive sniffer dogs.

It was during these raids that they located a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a news conference on that day.

Searches also uncovered a container of metal spheres and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.

The official said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in Belgium in the current year - surpassing the overall count of investigations in 2024.

In April, five individuals were found guilty for a previous year's plan to target De Wever while he was acting as the city's chief executive.