Alleged Plan to Strike Belgian PM Foiled
Belgian authorities have taken into custody three suspects suspected of plotting an assault on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities characterized the reported scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the prime minister and additional politicians.
During searches conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, close to the PM's personal dwelling, investigators uncovered a potential IED and indications that the suspects were preparing to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the intended targets of the assault were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was included in the targets.
"The news of a premeditated assault aimed at Premier Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister declared in a message on social media on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are dealing with a genuine extremist danger and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.
The three suspects arrested on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and participation in the operations of a jihadist network all reside in Antwerp, per the legal authorities. They were had birth years in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
On late Thursday, one suspect was freed, while the remaining two were still being questioned and scheduled to appear in court on the following day.
Legal authorities revealed that the individuals were taken into custody after a court official directed searches of their homes in the location by law enforcement backed by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these raids that they found a object which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a press conference on that day.
Searches also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
The prosecutor disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes opened in the country in the current year - exceeding the full amount of cases in the previous year.
During the spring, five people were convicted for a 2023 plot to target Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.