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Belgian police have taken into custody three suspects allegedly involved in conspiring to carry out an strike on the government's prime minister, Bart de Wever.

Federal prosecutors described the suspected plot as a terrorist act motivated by jihadist ideology targeting the premier and other elected representatives.

During searches conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the prime minister's private residence, investigators uncovered a alleged improvised explosive device and proof that the suspects were planning to use a UAV.

While the prospective targets of the assault were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was one of them.

"Information of a premeditated strike targeting Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," Prevot wrote in a message on social media on the investigation day.

"It emphasizes that we are facing a genuine terrorism risk and that we have to stay alert," he continued.

The three individuals detained on allegations of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the activities of a terrorist group all live in Antwerp, as stated by the legal authorities. They were born in the early 2000s.

On Thursday evening, one of the individuals was freed, while the other suspects were still being questioned and scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Legal authorities stated that the suspects were arrested after a magistrate authorized searches of their residences in the urban area by law enforcement backed by bomb detection canines.

Throughout these investigations that they located a device which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen stated at a media briefing on the day of the events.

Searches also found a "bag of steel balls" and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she added.

The prosecutor disclosed that there had been 80 extremist probes opened in the nation this year - exceeding the total number of cases in 2024.

During the spring, five suspects were convicted for a previous year's plan to strike Belgium's leader while he was holding the position of Antwerp's mayor.