Suspected Scheme to Attack Belgian Premier Prevented
Belgian law enforcement have taken into custody three people suspected of plotting an strike on the country's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities labeled the alleged scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the PM and additional politicians.
During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the PM's private residence, investigators uncovered a suspected IED and indications that the individuals were intending to deploy a UAV.
While the intended targets of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was among them.
"The news of a planned strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister wrote in a post on online platforms on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are dealing with a very real terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he added.
The three people detained on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the operations of a terrorist group all are based in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
By late Thursday, one suspect was released, while the other suspects were still being questioned and scheduled to face a judge on the following day.
The prosecution revealed that the accused were detained after a judge authorized raids of their homes in the urban area by police officers assisted by explosives-trained dogs.
In the course of these raids that they found a item which closely resembled a homemade bomb, legal representative Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on Thursday.
Investigations also found a collection of ball bearings and a three-dimensional printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she continued.
The prosecutor stated that there had been 80 extremist probes launched in the country in the current year - more than the overall count of instances in the previous year.
Earlier this year, five suspects were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike De Wever while he was acting as the city's chief executive.
