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Belgian police have arrested three individuals suspected of plotting an attack on the nation's premier, Bart de Wever.

Federal prosecutors characterized the suspected plan as a "jihadist-inspired terrorist attack" targeting the premier and additional elected representatives.

During searches conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, in proximity to the prime minister's personal dwelling, investigators uncovered a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the accused were preparing to employ a drone.

While the intended targets of the attack were not publicly identified by the legal authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium's leader was among them.

"The news of a premeditated strike aimed at Prime Minister Bart de Wever is profoundly disturbing," Prevot wrote in a message on online platforms on the investigation day.

"It highlights that we are facing a very real terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he continued.

The three people detained on charges of terrorism-related attempted murder and involvement in the functions of a jihadist network all live in Antwerp, according to the federal prosecutors. They were born in three different years between 2001 and 2007.

By the evening of the arrests, one person was released, while two others were undergoing questioning and scheduled to be presented before a court on Friday.

The prosecution stated that the suspects were arrested after a magistrate directed raids of their homes in the city by police officers assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.

It was during these searches that they located a object which appeared to be an IED, lead prosecutor Ann Fransen announced at a press conference on that day.

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

The official stated that there had been eighty counter-terrorism cases initiated in the country this year - more than the full amount of investigations in the previous year.

In April, five people were convicted for a previous year's plan to target the prime minister while he was holding the position of the city's chief executive.