Alleged Plan to Attack Belgian PM Prevented

Belgium's authorities have taken into custody three individuals accused of conspiring to carry out an assault on the country's PM, Bart de Wever.

Prosecutors characterized the reported plan as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the PM and fellow elected representatives.

During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's personal dwelling, authorities discovered a suspected homemade bomb and proof that the individuals were planning to deploy a drone.

While the planned victims of the attack were not disclosed by name by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that de Wever was included in the targets.

"The news of a premeditated attack targeting PM Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister stated in a message on online platforms on Thursday.

"This underscores that we are facing 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 terrorist group all reside in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in three different years between 2001 and 2007.

On the evening of the arrests, one person was freed, while two others were undergoing questioning and expected to face a judge on Friday.

Legal authorities stated that the individuals were arrested after a court official directed inspections of their dwellings in the urban area by police officers assisted by bomb detection canines.

Throughout these investigations that they found a device which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a news conference on the day of the events.

Raids also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she continued.

The official stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations opened in the nation this year - exceeding the total number of instances in 2024.

During the spring, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to attack De Wever while he was serving as the city's chief executive.