Belgian federal authorities have arrested three young suspects in connection with what prosecutors said was an attempted terrorist attack on the country’s politicians, including Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
Federal prosecutor Ann Fransen said the suspects — born in 2001, 2002 and 2007 — were detained in Antwerp Thursday morning on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. Two remain in custody and will appear before an investigating judge, while the third has been released.
“There are indications that the intention was to carry out a jihadist-inspired terrorist attack targeting politicians,” Fransen said during a press conference.
According to the Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper and sources cited by the VRT broadcaster, among the intended targets was De Wever, who leads the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). Contacted by POLITICO, De Wever’s spokesperson Philippe Kerckaert declined to comment.
Yvan Verougstraete, a Belgian MEP with Renew Europe and president of Les Engagés, a member of De Wever’s coalition government, wrote on social media that he was “shocked” by the suspected assassination attempt.
“Total support for the targeted individuals, including, it seems, our Prime Minister Bart De Wever,” he said.
During raids in the Antwerp district of Deurne, investigators said they found an inactive mechanism resembling an improvised explosive device, along with a bag of steel balls, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A 3D printer was seized from a second suspect, which was allegedly used to produce bomb components, and investigators are probing evidence of plans to use a drone to deploy the device.
Four house searches were conducted with assistance from bomb squads and federal police units.
Fransen warned that the case highlights Belgium’s ongoing terrorism risk. “This file shows that all security services must remain vigilant against the risk of terrorist attacks,” she said.
Belgian prosecutors have opened around 80 new terrorism cases so far this year — already more than the total number of cases in 2024. Thursday’s arrests come nearly a decade after the 2016 Brussels terror attacks that killed 32 people.
This isn’t the first time De Wever has been targeted. In April, the Antwerp Court of Appeal sentenced five men to prison, including a six-year term for the group’s leader, over a foiled 2023 plot to assassinate De Wever, the former mayor of Antwerp.
This article has been updated.
The post 3 arrested in suspected terror plot targeting Belgian PM appeared first on Politico.
