Alleged Plot to Strike Belgian Prime Minister Thwarted

Belgium's authorities have taken into custody three suspects accused of plotting an strike on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.

Legal authorities characterized the reported plan as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and fellow politicians.

During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the prime minister's personal dwelling, investigators uncovered a suspected IED and indications that the suspects were preparing to employ a drone.

While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was one of them.

"The news of a premeditated strike targeting Premier Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," Prevot declared in a update on online platforms on Thursday.

"It emphasizes that we are dealing with a serious extremist danger and that we have to remain vigilant," he continued.

The three suspects arrested on charges of attempted terrorist murder and engagement in the operations of a jihadist network all live in the Antwerp region, according to the prosecutor's office. They were born in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

By late Thursday, one of the individuals was let go, while two others were under interrogation and expected to appear in court on the following day.

Federal prosecutors said that the individuals were arrested after a court official authorized searches of their homes in the urban area by officials backed by explosives-trained dogs.

Throughout these raids that they located a object which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a news conference on Thursday.

Searches also found a collection of ball bearings and a three-dimensional printer, with signs of drone weaponization plans, she added.

The official said that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases initiated in Belgium in the current year - exceeding the overall count of cases in the previous year.

Earlier this year, five suspects were found guilty for a previous year's plan to attack De Wever while he was holding the position of the mayor of Antwerp.