BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police on Thursday detained three people over a suspected plot to attack the country's politicians including Prime Minister Bart De Wever with a drone carrying explosives.
The three were taken into custody after an anti-terrorism judge ordered searches of their homes in the port city of Antwerp by police officers working with explosives sniffer dogs, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
An “improvised device” was found at the home of one of the suspects but it was not operational at the time. A bag of steel balls also was found there, while a 3D printer believed to be used to make parts for the planned attack was found at another residence.
“There are also indications that the intention was to build a drone to attach a load,” the prosecutors said.
The raids were “part of an investigation into, among other things, attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group,” they said.
“There are indications that the intention was to carry out a jihadist-inspired terrorist attack targeting politicians,” prosecutors said. They did not identify the politicians who might 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 deeply shocking,” and he thanked the security and justice services for their “rapid action.”
Prevot said the incident is a sign that “the terrorist threat remains very real and we must remain vigilant.”
He said that Belgium is "actively reinforcing its capacity to confront new forms of terrorism, notably the fight against the misuse of drones.” A Belgian military base near the border with Germany was recently overflown by a suspect drone, one of several troubling incidents around Europe in recent weeks.
Defense Minister Theo Francken posted a message of support to De Wever — a former mayor of Antwerp who lives in the city — and wrote: "Thanks 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 into Thursday evening, and were due to appear before the investigating judge on Friday. Police said the third suspect was released.
Belgian justice authorities and police have been under strain in recent months due to a series of shootings in the capital Brussels, and drug-related crime in Antwerp, one of Europe’s major shipping hubs.
The Belgian justice system was already creaking under its load, with too few judges and court personnel to handle cases ranging from simple divorce proceedings to major crime. Threats to officials are also a danger. A former justice minister and a senior prosecutor were forced to live under police protection.
In Thursday’s statement, the prosecutors appealed to the government for more support, saying that it’s “important to ensure that the police and the judiciary always have sufficient capacity to guarantee the security of our society.”
They noted that around 80 new terrorism investigations have been opened by the federal public prosecutor’s office this year, already more than the total number of cases for 2024.
Belgium’s biggest ever attack remains strong in the public memory. Thirty-two people were killed and hundreds wounded on March 22, 2016, when suicide bombers detonated explosive vests at the main Brussels airport and a central commuter line.