Reported Scheme to Target Belgian PM Prevented
Belgium's authorities have arrested three individuals suspected of plotting an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Federal prosecutors described the reported scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the prime minister and other elected representatives.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, close to the premier's home, officials discovered a potential improvised explosive device and proof that the individuals were preparing to deploy a UAV.
While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the federal prosecutors, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was one of them.
"The news of a planned strike targeting Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official stated in a message on social media on the investigation day.
"It highlights that we are facing a serious extremist danger and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three people taken into custody on allegations of plotting a terrorist killing and engagement in the functions of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, according to the prosecutor's office. They were born in the early 2000s.
On Thursday evening, one person was freed, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and likely to face a judge on the following day.
Legal authorities stated that the accused were taken into custody after a judge ordered searches of their homes in the location by law enforcement assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.
In the course of these searches that they discovered a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on the day of the events.
Searches also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations initiated in the country so far this year - more than the total number of investigations in last year.
During the spring, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to target the prime minister while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
