Reported Scheme to Attack Belgian PM Prevented
Belgium's authorities have detained three people accused of plotting an strike on the country's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities labeled the alleged plot as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the prime minister and additional politicians.
During raids conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the premier's personal dwelling, authorities discovered a suspected improvised explosive device and indications that the accused were preparing to deploy a UAV.
While the planned victims of the assault were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that the prime minister was one of them.
"Information of a planned strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," Prevot wrote in a message on social media on Thursday.
"This underscores that we are facing a genuine extremist danger and that we have to stay alert," he continued.
The three people arrested on charges of attempted terrorist murder and involvement in the activities of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, per the federal prosecutors. They were with years of birth in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
On Thursday evening, one person was freed, while the remaining two were undergoing questioning and likely to face a judge on Friday.
Legal authorities stated that the accused were detained after a judge authorized inspections of their dwellings in the city by officials backed by explosive sniffer dogs.
It was during these raids that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, legal representative Ann Fransen said at a press conference on Thursday.
Searches also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.
The prosecutor said that there had been 80 extremist probes launched in the country so far this year - exceeding the full amount of instances in last year.
Earlier this year, five people were found guilty for a previous year's plan to strike De Wever while he was serving as the mayor of Antwerp.
