Alleged Plan to Strike Belgian Premier Prevented
Belgium's authorities have arrested three suspects suspected of plotting an strike on the government's premier, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors described the reported plot as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the prime minister and fellow government officials.
During searches conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the PM's personal dwelling, officials uncovered a potential homemade bomb and indications that the individuals were planning to use a drone.
While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot revealed that de Wever was among them.
"The news of a premeditated assault aimed at PM Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official declared in a message on social media on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are confronting a very real terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he continued.
The three people detained on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the functions of a terrorist group all live in the Antwerp region, as stated by the prosecutor's office. They were with years of birth in the early 2000s.
On late Thursday, one suspect was freed, while two others were undergoing questioning and expected to face a judge on the following day.
The prosecution stated that the accused were arrested after a court official directed inspections of their dwellings in the urban area by police officers supported by explosive sniffer dogs.
It was during these raids that they located a item which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on that day.
Investigations also found a collection of ball bearings and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations initiated in Belgium this year - surpassing the full amount of cases in the previous year.
Earlier this year, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike the prime minister while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
