Alleged Scheme to Strike Belgian PM Prevented
Belgium's police have arrested three people suspected of plotting an attack on the nation's premier, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities described the alleged plan as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and other government officials.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, close to the prime minister's home, investigators uncovered a potential IED and proof that the suspects were intending to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the planned victims of the strike were not publicly identified by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was among them.
"The news of a intended strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister wrote in a post on online platforms on the investigation day.
"It highlights that we are dealing with a very real terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he continued.
The three suspects arrested on allegations of attempted terrorist murder and involvement in the functions of a extremist organization all reside in Antwerp, per the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
As of the evening of the arrests, one of the individuals was let go, while the remaining two were under interrogation and likely to appear in court on the following day.
Federal prosecutors said that the accused were detained after a judge authorized raids of their dwellings in the city by officials backed by explosives-trained dogs.
Throughout these raids that they found a device which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on Thursday.
Raids also found a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she continued.
The official said that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in the nation in the current year - exceeding the full amount of investigations 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 the city's chief executive.
