Maldives has launched a counter-terrorism operation in its prisons in the capital Male and Mafushi in connection with the failed assassination bid on the archipelago’s former president Mohammad Nasheed.  

On May 6, an IED bomb exploded just outside Nasheed’s house in Male, leaving him badly injured. The lack of prior intelligence about the blast led the country’s President Ibrahim Muhammed Solih to order a complete audit of the security apparatus. 

The operation launched on Saturday was confirmed by the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) on Twitter. However, it confirmed that the operation was one of the many operations in the case. It is being led by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) together with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), it said. 

Police also denied reports that prisoners were being beaten, tortured during the operation. 

Last week, police, at a press conference, confirmed that they had received tip-offs from over 124 individuals, and based on that police conducted raids in at least 25 locations. 14 individuals, including 4 extremists, were arrested in the counter-terrorism operations launched after the bombing.

Islamist extremism is one of the top national security threats the archipelago has been facing. Solih, the country’s president, in a speech this year, had even acknowledged the challenge of containing the threat.

(SAM)