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Belgium's authorities have arrested three individuals accused of planning an strike on the nation's prime minister, Bart de Wever.

Legal authorities described the alleged plot as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and fellow government officials.

During raids conducted in Deurne, Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's personal dwelling, authorities uncovered a alleged IED and evidence that the accused were intending to employ a UAV.

While the intended targets of the assault were not publicly identified by the prosecutor's office, Vice Premier Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was among them.

"The news of a premeditated attack directed toward Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," Prevot declared in a message on X on the day of the arrests.

"It highlights that we are dealing with a serious terrorist threat and that we have to stay alert," he added.

The three suspects detained on suspicion of terrorism-related attempted murder and participation in the activities of a extremist organization all live in the Antwerp region, according to the federal prosecutors. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

By the evening of the arrests, one person was let go, while two others were still being questioned and scheduled to appear in court on the following day.

Legal authorities said that the accused were taken into custody after a court official directed searches of their residences in the urban area by officials supported by explosive sniffer dogs.

In the course of these investigations that they found a object which appeared to be an IED, federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a press conference on the day of the events.

Searches also found a collection of ball bearings and a additive manufacturing device, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.

The prosecutor disclosed that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases launched in Belgium so far this year - surpassing the total number of instances in the previous year.

Earlier this year, five suspects were sentenced for a 2023 plot to target the prime minister while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.