Alleged Scheme to Attack Belgian Prime Minister Prevented
Belgium's law enforcement have taken into custody three individuals accused of conspiring to carry out an attack on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors labeled the alleged plan as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and fellow elected representatives.
During raids conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the prime minister's personal dwelling, authorities discovered a alleged IED and indications that the individuals were planning to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the prospective targets of the strike were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was one of them.
"The news of a intended attack aimed at Premier Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister wrote in a message on X on the investigation day.
"It emphasizes that we are facing a very real terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three suspects taken into custody on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and engagement in the activities of a extremist organization all reside in Antwerp, per the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
On the evening of the arrests, one person was freed, while two others were still being questioned and scheduled to face a judge on the following day.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the individuals were arrested after a court official directed raids of their homes in the location by law enforcement backed by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these searches that they found a object which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a news conference on the day of the events.
Raids also revealed a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, 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 the nation this year - more than the total number of instances in the previous year.
Earlier this year, five suspects were convicted for a previous year's plan to attack Belgium's leader while he was acting as the mayor of Antwerp.
