Suspected Scheme to Strike Belgian Premier Foiled
Belgium's law enforcement have taken into custody three suspects accused of planning an assault on the government's premier, Bart de Wever.
Legal authorities characterized the alleged scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and additional politicians.
During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the prime minister's private residence, authorities uncovered a alleged IED and evidence that the suspects were preparing to use a UAV.
While the prospective targets of the strike were not officially named by the federal prosecutors, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that de Wever was one of them.
"Information of a premeditated attack directed toward Premier Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," the official wrote in a update on social media on the day of the arrests.
"This underscores that we are confronting a serious terrorism risk and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.
The three people taken into custody on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and participation in the activities of a jihadist network all reside in Antwerp, according to the legal authorities. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.
On late Thursday, one suspect was freed, while the remaining two were under interrogation and scheduled to appear in court on the next day.
Legal authorities revealed that the suspects were arrested after a judge directed inspections of their homes in the city by law enforcement supported by explosives-trained dogs.
Throughout these investigations that they located a item which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a news conference on that day.
Raids also found a collection of ball bearings and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.
The prosecutor disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes initiated in the country this year - more than the total number of instances in the previous year.
In April, five people were found guilty for a previous year's plan to strike Belgium's leader while he was serving as the city's chief executive.
