Alleged Plan to Strike Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted
Belgian law enforcement have arrested three people accused of plotting an attack on the nation's PM, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors characterized the reported scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the prime minister and fellow politicians.
During investigations conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the prime minister's private residence, authorities found a potential improvised explosive device and evidence that the suspects were planning to employ a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the prospective targets of the strike were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was among them.
"Information of a premeditated assault directed toward PM Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister wrote in a message on online platforms on Thursday.
"It highlights that we are dealing with a very real terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three suspects detained on charges of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the operations of a jihadist network all live in the city of Antwerp, per the federal prosecutors. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
By late Thursday, one of the individuals was freed, while two others were undergoing questioning and expected to be presented before a court on Friday.
The prosecution revealed that the suspects were arrested after a judge ordered raids of their homes in the location by officials backed by explosive sniffer dogs.
In the course of these raids that they found a device which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", lead prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a media briefing on that day.
Searches also found a container of metal spheres and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations initiated in the country in the current year - exceeding the overall count of cases in the previous year.
In April, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to attack Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
