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Belgian law enforcement have taken into custody three suspects suspected of plotting an assault on the nation's premier, Bart de Wever.

Prosecutors characterized the suspected plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the PM and other government officials.

During investigations conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, close to the PM's private residence, officials found a suspected homemade bomb and indications that the accused were intending to use a drone.

While the planned victims of the attack were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot stated that the prime minister was one of them.

"The news of a planned strike targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is deeply alarming," Prevot declared in a message on X on Thursday.

"It highlights that we are dealing with a serious extremist danger and that we have to stay alert," he continued.

The three individuals arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the operations of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, as stated by the legal authorities. They were born in three different years between 2001 and 2007.

On Thursday evening, one suspect was released, while two others were still being questioned and expected to be presented before a court on the following day.

The prosecution revealed that the suspects were detained after a magistrate authorized raids of their dwellings in the location by officials supported by bomb detection canines.

In the course of these searches that they discovered a object which "bore strong resemblances to an improvised explosive device", legal representative Ann Fransen announced at a news conference on that day.

Searches also uncovered a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she noted.

Fransen stated that there had been 80 terrorism investigations initiated in the nation this year - surpassing the overall count of instances in 2024.

In April, five suspects were found guilty for a scheme last year to strike Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of the mayor of Antwerp.