Suspected Scheme to Attack Belgian PM Prevented

Belgium's authorities have taken into custody three people accused of conspiring to carry out an assault on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.

Prosecutors characterized the alleged plan as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the PM and other elected representatives.

During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the premier's private residence, authorities discovered a alleged homemade bomb and evidence that the individuals were preparing to deploy a drone.

While the prospective targets of the strike were not officially named by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was among them.

"Reports of a planned assault aimed at Premier Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the official declared in a post on social media on the day of the arrests.

"This underscores that we are confronting a serious terrorism risk and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.

The three individuals arrested on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the operations of a jihadist network all reside in the Antwerp region, per the legal authorities. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

As of the evening of the arrests, one person was let go, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and expected to be presented before a court on the next day.

The prosecution said that the suspects were detained after a judge authorized searches of their dwellings in the urban area by officials assisted by explosives-trained dogs.

Throughout these searches that they located a item which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a press conference on that day.

Investigations also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.

The official disclosed that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in the nation this year - exceeding the full amount of instances in 2024.

Earlier this year, five people were convicted for a scheme last year to target De Wever while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.