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Belgium's authorities have detained three people accused of plotting an attack on the government's PM, Bart de Wever.

Legal authorities described the reported scheme as a extremist assault with jihadist roots targeting the PM and fellow elected representatives.

During investigations conducted in Antwerp's Deurne district, close to the PM's private residence, authorities found a suspected homemade bomb and evidence that the suspects were preparing to deploy a UAV.

While the intended targets of the strike were not disclosed by name by the prosecutor's office, Second-in-command Maxime Prevot confirmed that the prime minister was among them.

"Information of a planned attack targeting Premier Bart de Wever is extremely shocking," the deputy prime minister wrote in a update on social media on the day of the arrests.

"This underscores that we are facing a very real terrorist threat and that we have to keep watchful," he concluded.

The three suspects taken into custody on allegations of attempted terrorist murder and engagement in the activities of a extremist organization all are based in the city of Antwerp, per the legal authorities. They were had birth years in the early 2000s.

By the evening of the arrests, one of the individuals was freed, while two others were under interrogation and expected to face a judge on Friday.

Federal prosecutors said that the accused were taken into custody after a court official directed inspections of their dwellings in the location by police officers assisted by explosive sniffer dogs.

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

Investigations also revealed a "bag of steel balls" and a three-dimensional printer, with "indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload", she continued.

The prosecutor said that there had been 80 extremist probes opened in the nation so far this year - surpassing the overall count of instances in the previous year.

During the spring, five people were found guilty for a scheme last year to target the prime minister while he was holding the position of the mayor of Antwerp.