The Belgian Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin (Francophone liberal) has said that foreign intelligence services also assisted their Belgian counterparts in gathering information on the suspects in the foiled terrorist attacks against the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist) and other leading politicians, including Mr De Wever’s party colleague, the Mayor of Antwerp Els Van Doesburg.
On Friday morning, Mr Quintin met with the Belgian security services to analyse the events of the past day. He praised the cooperation between the various services involved in the investigation, including foreign security services. "Several intelligence services were involved”.
Mr Quitin added that “There was good international cooperation. The dismantling of the small cell in Antwerp went well”.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday that the threat was towards “politicians”. It soon became clear that the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever was one of those that had been targeted.
Other politicians, including Ms van Doesburg were also among the terrorists' alleged targets. According to information from VRT News sources the police contacted the Mayor of Antwerp last week to tell her that she may be at risk.