The federal prosecutor's office has announced the arrest of three individuals suspected of preparing an attack targeting "political figures", likely using a drone carrying explosives.
Three young suspects, born in 2001, 2002 and 2007, were arrested on Thursday in Antwerp as part of an investigation led by the Federal prosecutor's office into an attempted terrorist attack and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.
Federal Prosecutor Ann Fransen told a press conference on Thursday evening that the arrests were carried out as part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group”.
"Certain elements indicate that the intention was to carry out a terrorist attack of jihadist inspiration against political leaders," said Ann Fransen, standing alongside Yves Driesen, head of Antwerp's judicial police.
According to Flemish media reports, police searched a residence just a few hundred metres from De Wever’s home in Antwerp.
Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) and Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) later publicly confirmed that Bart De Wever had indeed been the target of a planned attack.
During the raids, which involved the federal police's special units (DSU) as well as the army's bomb disposal service (SEDEE), investigators discovered steel bullets and a 3D printer that was apparently being used to produce components for an attack. The federal prosecutor's office currently believes the plan involved using a drone to carry an explosive charge.
"Two suspects are currently being questioned by the judicial police and will be brought before the investigating judge tomorrow,"said Ann Fransen, the Federal Prosecutor. "The third suspect was released earlier in the day."
Limiting her comments to these facts for now, the federal prosecutor nevertheless emphasised the growing urgency of the terrorist threat: "In 2025, around 80 new terrorism-related investigations have already been opened within the federal prosecutor's anti-terror section. That's already more than for the entire year of 2024, and that figure does not even include cases involving minors."
For its part, OCAM (the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis) confirmed to Le Soir that the overall threat level for Belgium remains unchanged: "It is set at level 3 (serious threat) on a scale of 1 to 4."
Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) also noted that threats leading to the protection of state representatives have unfortunately become increasingly common: "In 2024, no fewer than 101 people were placed under protection after receiving threats in connection with their duties. Political leaders, magistrates, police officers, prison guards; these professions are increasingly being targeted."
This is not the first time the prime minister has found himself directly threatened by a potential terrorist plot. On 27 March 2023, several individuals were arrested during a series of raids in Antwerp, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Eupen. Police had been monitoring them for several months after being alerted by the State Security Service to worrying activities.
A thorough investigation uncovered communications indicating that a young man, apparently intent on assassinating Bart De Wever and attacking a police station, was actively seeking a Kalashnikov, handguns, and explosives.
In April this year, the Antwerp Court of Appeal handed down sentences of up to six years in prison, ruling that while certain preparations had indeed been made to commit an attack, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the terrorist act was imminent.
