Alleged Scheme to Strike Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted
Belgium's law enforcement have arrested three people accused of planning an attack on the country's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors described the alleged plot as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the prime minister and fellow government officials.
During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, near the premier's personal dwelling, investigators found a suspected homemade bomb and proof that the suspects were preparing to employ a UAV.
While the planned victims of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that the prime minister was included in the targets.
"The news of a premeditated assault directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister wrote in a message on online platforms on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are facing a genuine extremist danger and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.
The three individuals taken into custody on suspicion of terrorism-related attempted murder and engagement in the operations of a terrorist group all reside in the city of Antwerp, according to the prosecutor's office. They were born in the early 2000s.
On late Thursday, one of the individuals was let go, while the remaining two were still being questioned and expected to face a judge on Friday.
Federal prosecutors said that the accused were arrested after a court official authorized raids of their homes in the location by officials backed by explosives-trained dogs.
Throughout these investigations that they located a object which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Searches also found a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she noted.
The official stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases initiated in the nation so far this year - more than the full amount of investigations in the previous year.
During the spring, five individuals were found guilty for a scheme last year to target the prime minister while he was serving as Antwerp's mayor.
