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Belgium's law enforcement have detained three individuals allegedly involved in conspiring to carry out an assault on the nation's premier, Bart de Wever.

Federal prosecutors characterized the suspected scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the PM and fellow government officials.

During raids conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the premier's home, officials discovered a suspected homemade bomb and proof that the individuals were preparing to use a UAV.

While the intended targets of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot revealed that Belgium's leader was among them.

"Information of a premeditated strike aimed at PM Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister wrote in a message on X on the day of the arrests.

"It highlights that we are confronting a genuine terrorism risk and that we have to stay alert," he concluded.

The three suspects arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and participation in the activities of a terrorist group all live in the city of Antwerp, as stated by the prosecutor's office. They were born in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

As of Thursday evening, one of the individuals was freed, while the other suspects were undergoing questioning and scheduled to be presented before a court on Friday.

Federal prosecutors stated that the suspects were taken into custody after a judge ordered raids of their dwellings in the location by officials supported by explosive sniffer dogs.

It was during these investigations that they discovered a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, legal representative Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on that day.

Raids also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.

Fransen said that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases opened in Belgium in the current year - exceeding the total number of cases in 2024.

During the spring, five individuals were found guilty for a previous year's plan to target De Wever while he was serving as Antwerp's mayor.