Suspected Plan to Attack Belgian Premier Thwarted
Belgium's police have arrested three individuals suspected of planning an assault on the nation's PM, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities characterized the suspected plot as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the prime minister and fellow government officials.
During investigations conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's private residence, investigators uncovered a suspected homemade bomb and indications that the individuals were preparing to use a UAV.
While the planned victims of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that the prime minister was one of them.
"Information of a planned attack aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the deputy prime minister declared in a update on online platforms on the investigation day.
"It highlights that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.
The three suspects detained on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the operations of a extremist organization all live in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
As of late Thursday, one person was let go, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Legal authorities revealed that the individuals were arrested after a magistrate ordered raids of their dwellings in the location by law enforcement supported by explosive sniffer dogs.
It was during these raids that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on that day.
Investigations also uncovered a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.
Fransen disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes initiated in the country so far this year - more than the total number of instances in the previous year.
In April, five people were convicted for a previous year's plan to attack De Wever while he was holding the position of the mayor of Antwerp.
