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Belgium's law enforcement have detained three suspects allegedly involved in plotting an attack on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.

Prosecutors described the alleged scheme as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and additional government officials.

During searches conducted in the Deurne area of Antwerp, in proximity to the PM's personal dwelling, officials discovered a alleged IED and indications that the suspects were intending to deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle.

While the intended targets of the strike were not officially named by the prosecutor's office, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was included in the targets.

"Reports of a premeditated strike targeting Premier Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," the deputy prime minister wrote in a post on X on the investigation day.

"It emphasizes that we are confronting a very real terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant," he concluded.

The three people taken into custody on charges of plotting a terrorist killing and participation in the functions of a jihadist network all reside in the Antwerp region, as stated by the legal authorities. They were had birth years in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

By late Thursday, one suspect was let go, while the remaining two were under interrogation and likely to be presented before a court on Friday.

The prosecution said that the individuals were arrested after a court official directed raids of their residences in the location by officials assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.

It was during these searches that they found a object which closely resembled a homemade bomb, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Raids also uncovered a container of metal spheres and a 3D printer, with evidence suggesting drone-based payload delivery, she noted.

The prosecutor disclosed that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases launched in Belgium this year - exceeding the full amount of investigations in the previous year.

During the spring, five individuals were convicted for a scheme last year to target Belgium's leader while he was acting as the mayor of Antwerp.