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Belgian law enforcement have arrested three people suspected of conspiring to carry out an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.

Legal authorities characterized the reported plot as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the prime minister and other government officials.

During raids conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the premier's private residence, investigators discovered a alleged improvised explosive device and evidence that the suspects were intending to use a unmanned aerial vehicle.

While the intended targets of the attack were not officially named by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot revealed that de Wever was included in the targets.

"The news of a intended strike aimed at Premier Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the official wrote in a message on social media on Thursday.

"It highlights that we are confronting a genuine terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he added.

The three people taken into custody on suspicion of plotting a terrorist killing and involvement in the activities of a jihadist network all live in the Antwerp region, per the prosecutor's office. They were born in the early 2000s.

By Thursday evening, one suspect was released, while two others were still being questioned and scheduled to face a judge on the following day.

Federal prosecutors revealed that the suspects were taken into custody after a magistrate directed inspections of their residences in the city by officials backed by explosive sniffer dogs.

It was during these investigations that they discovered a object which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a media briefing on the day of the events.

Investigations also found a collection of ball bearings and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.

Fransen disclosed that there had been 80 terrorism investigations launched in the country so far this year - exceeding the full amount of cases in 2024.

In April, five suspects were found guilty for a previous year's plan to attack the prime minister while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.