Terrorist Assassination Plot Against Belgian Prime Minister Foiled

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Belgian authorities have thwarted a terrorist plot to assassinate Prime Minister Bart De Wever, arresting three young suspects in the city of Antwerp who were allegedly preparing to carry out a jihadist-inspired attack, likely using a drone armed with an explosive device.

The federal prosecutor's office announced the arrests on Thursday evening, revealing that an investigation into "attempted terrorist murder" had uncovered a plan targeting high-profile "political figures."

The plot, which appears to have been in an advanced stage of preparation, has sent a shockwave through the Belgian political establishment and served as a stark and chilling reminder of the persistent and evolving nature of the terrorist threat in the heart of Europe.

At a press conference on Thursday evening, Federal Prosecutor Ann Fransen, standing alongside Yves Driesen, the head of Antwerp's judicial police, confirmed that three young men, born in 2001, 2002, and 2007, had been detained during a series of raids conducted earlier that day in the Antwerp district of Deurne.

The arrests, she stated, were carried out as part of a wide-ranging investigation into "attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group." Fransen provided a clear and direct assessment of the plot's intent, stating, "Certain elements indicate that the intention was to carry out a terrorist attack of jihadist inspiration against political leaders."

While the federal prosecutor did not initially name the specific targets, both Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and Defence Minister Theo Francken later publicly confirmed that the country's prime minister, Bart De Wever, who is also the leader of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party, was indeed a primary target of the planned attack.

This was further substantiated by reports from Flemish media, cited by The Brussels Times, which noted that police had searched a residence located just a few hundred meters from De Wever's family home in Antwerp.

The raids, which involved a significant mobilization of security forces, including the federal police's elite special units (DSU) and the army's bomb disposal service (SEDEE, also known as DOVO), yielded a disturbing collection of materials that pointed to a sophisticated and potentially deadly plan.

According to VRT NWS, detectives discovered an object that "resembled an improvised explosive device (IED)," along with a bag of metal pellets, or steel bullets, which are often used in explosive devices to maximize casualties by acting as shrapnel.

Perhaps most significantly, investigators also found a 3D printer which, as reported by both VRT NWS and The Brussels Times, was apparently being used to produce components for the attack.

The federal prosecutor's office currently believes that the plot involved attaching an explosive charge to a drone, a tactic that has been increasingly used by terrorist groups in conflict zones and which represents a significant and dangerous evolution in the methods available to would-be attackers in Europe.

During the extensive police operation, which also utilized explosives-sniffing dogs, local residents in the immediate vicinity of the raids were temporarily evacuated as a safety precaution, underscoring the perceived seriousness of the threat.

The entire investigation is being led by an examining magistrate who is specialized in terrorism cases, ensuring that the matter is being handled with the highest level of expertise and urgency.

Following the raids, two of the suspects, who are being questioned by the judicial police, are scheduled to be brought before the investigating judge on Friday. The third and youngest suspect, who was born in 2007 and is therefore a minor, was released earlier on Thursday.

This is not the first time that Prime Minister De Wever has been the target of a terrorist assassination plot.

As reported by The Brussels Times, a similar threat was uncovered in March 2023, leading to several arrests in Antwerp, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Eupen. In that case, an investigation had revealed communications indicating that a young man was actively seeking to acquire a Kalashnikov rifle, handguns, and explosives with the explicit intent of assassinating the prime minister and attacking a police station.

While the Antwerp Court of Appeal handed down sentences of up to six years in prison in April of this year for that plot, it ruled that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the terrorist act was imminent.

The foiling of this latest plot comes at a time of a marked and worrying increase in the terrorist threat level in Belgium. Federal Prosecutor Ann Fransen used the press conference to highlight this alarming trend.

"In 2025, around 80 new terrorism-related investigations have already been opened within the federal prosecutor's anti-terror section," she revealed. "That's already more than for the entire year of 2024, and that figure does not even include cases involving minors."

Despite the gravity of this specific plot and the rising number of investigations, Belgium's Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM) confirmed to the newspaper Le Soir that the overall threat level for the country remains unchanged at level 3, which signifies a "serious threat" on a scale of 1 to 4. This indicates that while the threat is persistent and significant, security services do not currently believe that a large-scale, coordinated attack is imminent.

The targeting of political figures, however, appears to be a growing and deeply concerning phenomenon. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden noted that threats against state representatives have become increasingly common.

"In 2024, no fewer than 101 people were placed under protection after receiving threats in connection with their duties," she stated, as reported by The Brussels Times. "Political leaders, magistrates, police officers, prison guards; these professions are increasingly being targeted."

The foiled assassination plot against the Prime Minister is the most high-profile and alarming example of this trend, a stark reminder of the dangers faced by public servants in an era of heightened political and ideological polarization.

 The successful intervention by Belgian security forces has averted a potential tragedy, but the underlying threat, as evidenced by the rising number of terror-related investigations, remains a potent and ever-present challenge for the nation.