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Belgian Police detained three people on Thursday for a suspected plot to attack the country’s politicians, including Prime Minister Bart de Wever, with explosives-laden drones.
The three were taken into custody after an anti-terrorism judge ordered searches of their homes in the port city antwerp Police officers are working with explosive detection dogs, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
An “improvised device” was found at the home of one of the suspects but was not operational at the time. A bag of steel balls was also found there, while a 3D printer believed to have been used to make parts for the planned attack was found at another residence.
“There are also indications that the intent was to create a drone to assemble an item,” prosecutors said.
“The cases were part of an investigation into, among other things, attempted murder and involvement in the activities of a terrorist group,” he said.
Prosecutors said, “There are indications that the intention was to carry out a jihadist-inspired terrorist attack targeting politicians.” He did not identify the politicians who may have been targeted.
But in a post on social media, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote that “the news of a planned attack targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is extremely shocking,” and he thanked the security and justice services for their “swift action.”
Prevot said the incident is a sign that “the terrorist threat is very real and we must remain vigilant.”
He added that Belgium is “actively strengthening its capacity to counter new forms of terrorism, especially the fight against the misuse of drones.” A Belgian military base near the border Germany was recently blown up by a suspicious drone, one of several disturbing incidents around Europe In recent weeks.
Defense Minister Theo Franken posted a message of support to De Wever, the former mayor of Antwerp, who lives in the city, writing: “Thank you to the security services. Never surrender.”
The suspects were not identified, but were described as “young adults”, born in 2001, 2002 and 2007. Two of them were questioned by Antwerp police until Thursday evening, and were due to appear before the investigating judge on Friday. The third suspect was released, police said.
Belgian justice officials and police are under strain due to a series of shootings in the capital in recent months brusselsand drug-related crime in Antwerp, one of Europe’s major shipping hubs.
The Belgian justice system was already crumbling under its load, with too few judges and court personnel to handle cases ranging from simple divorce proceedings to major crimes. Threats to officials are also a threat. A former justice minister and a senior prosecutor were forced to live under police protection.
In Thursday’s statement, prosecutors appealed for more support from the government, saying it was “important to ensure that the police and the judiciary always have sufficient capacity to guarantee the security of our society.”
He noted that about 80 new terrorism investigations have been opened by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office this year, which already exceeds the total number of cases for 2024.
Belgium’s biggest attack till date still remains in people’s memory. Thirty-two people were killed and hundreds injured on March 22, 2016, when suicide bombers detonated explosives at the main Brussels airport and a central commuter line.