Dutch far-right politician Wilders fears he may have been a target of Belgian attack plotters

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders said Friday that he’s suspending campaigning for national elections later this month following reports that he was a possible target of a suspected plot in Belgium to kill politicians using a drone carrying explosives.

Three men were taken into custody on Thursday after searches of their homes in the port city of Antwerp by police using explosives sniffer dogs. A homemade bomb was found at one home, but it wasn’t operational at the time, prosecutors said.

A bag of steel balls also was found there, while a 3D printer believed to be used to make parts for the planned attack was found at another residence. Prosecutors said it appeared “that the intention was to build a drone to attach a load.”

Prosecutors said the police raids were part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.” They didn’t identify the politicians who might have been targeted.

But Belgian government ministers identified Prime Minister Bart De Wever as one target. On X, Wilders posted a Belgian news report that he and De Wever’s successor as Antwerp mayor, Els van Doesburg, were also on the hit list. All three are right-wing politicians.

Wilders said in a later message on X that Dutch counterterror authorities do not “expect a residual threat, but I have a bad feeling about this and am therefore suspending all my campaign activities for the time being.”

Earlier Friday, he canceled an appearance at an election debate with other political leaders ahead of an early general election scheduled for Oct. 29.

Dutch Justice Minister Foort van Oosten said on X he had requested that the Dutch counterterrorism office “do everything necessary to enable Mr. Wilders to resume his work as soon as he wishes.” He added that he would “never accept that politicians can’t do their work because of threats.”

Wilders, an outspoken critic of Islam, has been a target of extremists for years and lives with round-the-clock protection. His Party for Freedom is leading in polls before the election, which was called after he pulled out of the ruling four-party coalition in a dispute about a crackdown on migration.

Flemish broadcaster VTM was the source of some of the reports, but it didn’t provide details on how it learned about the list. In an interview with VTM, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said that both Belgian and foreign politicians were targets. He didn’t elaborate.

World leaders often visit Belgium’s capital, Brussels, for European Union and NATO summits, among other events.

De Wever hasn’t spoken publicly about the case, but he gave a thumbs-up to television cameras at a meeting of government ministers on Friday. The police raids were carried out close to his Antwerp home.

One of the suspects was later released. The other two were due to face a judge, possibly to be formally charged.

Belgian prosecutors said on Thursday that the intention of the suspects “was to carry out a jihadi-inspired terrorist attack targeting politicians.” They provided no details about how they had drawn those conclusions.

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Mike Corder contributed to this report from The Hague, Netherlands.