Suspected Plan to Attack Belgian Premier Thwarted
Belgian authorities have taken into custody three suspects accused of plotting an strike on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.
Prosecutors described the suspected plan as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the premier and other elected representatives.
During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, near the prime minister's personal dwelling, authorities found a suspected IED and proof that the suspects were intending to employ a UAV.
While the planned victims of the attack were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that de Wever was included in the targets.
"Reports of a premeditated strike directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the official declared in a post on social media on Thursday.
"This underscores that we are dealing with a serious terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.
The three people taken into custody on charges of attempted terrorist murder and engagement in the functions of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, as stated by the legal authorities. They were born in three different years between 2001 and 2007.
On late Thursday, one person was released, while two others were still being questioned and expected to appear in court on the next day.
The prosecution said that the accused were arrested after a court official ordered raids of their homes in the city by law enforcement assisted by bomb detection canines.
It was during these raids that they located a item which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a news conference on Thursday.
Investigations also found a "bag of steel balls" and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she added.
The prosecutor stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases launched in the country so far this year - exceeding the overall count of investigations in last year.
During the spring, five suspects were sentenced for a previous year's plan to attack De Wever while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.
