2007 Malé bombing

The 2007 Malé bombing was a bomb blast on September 29, 2007, in Sultan Park near the Islamic Centre in the Maldivian capital Malé, injuring 12 foreign tourists. The park is located in the shadow Maldivian Army (MNDF) Headquarters where several surveillance cameras are trained. It was the first known bombing to take place in the Maldives.

2007 Malé bombing
LocationSultan Park near the Islamic Centre in Malé, Maldives
DateSeptember 29, 2007
About 14:30[1] (UTC+5)
TargetUnknown
Attack type
Bombing
WeaponsHome-made bomb
DeathsNone
Injured12
Perpetrators16 arrested, 5 released

Local media reported that the bomb was homemade, and consisted of a gas cylinder, a washing machine motor and a mobile phone. The tourists hurt were eight from China, two from Britain, and two from Japan.[2]

A state of high alert was declared in Maldivian cities. Both the airports and ferry services in Male' were placed on high alert. The president also held a security meeting at his residence attended by Home Minister Abdullah Kamal Deen, National Security Advisor Colonel Mansoor, and Tourism Minister Mahmood Shaugy.

Suspects

Within 48 hours, 12 suspects—ten Maldivian nationals and two foreigners—were arrested by police.[3][4]

On October 3 at a police press conference, an assistant commissioner of police gave reporters information on two of the suspects:[5] Ahmed Naseer from Kanduhulhudhoo, Gaafu Alif Atoll, and Moosa Inas from Kalhaidoo, Laamu Atoll. Both are Maldivian natives in their early twenties.

Mosque standoff

A standoff occurred when Maldivan authorities investigating the explosion attempted to enter the Dar-al-Khuir mosque on the island of Himandhoo. A 40-hour standoff ensued between authorities and male congregants, ending in the arrest of 60 men and boys, and injuries to 30 police, including one whose hand was chopped off.[6]

Sentences

In December, three men were sentenced to 15 years in jail after they confessed to the bombing.[7] Minivan Daily reported on 18 August 2010 that two of those imprisoned, Ahmed Naseer and Mohamed Sobah, had their sentences changed from incarceration to three-year suspended sentences under observation.

Indian Newspaper The Week reported that charities that served as fronts for Pakistani terrorist groups like Lashkar e Toiba used disaster relief missions to tsunami torn Maldives as an opportunity to recruit potential jihadists.[8] They reported two prime suspect in the bombing, Mohamed Sobah and Ahmed Naseer, were set free in August 2010, although the deputy commissioner of the Maldives police, Ahmad Muneer, thought they were an internal security risk, and dangerous to Maldivian society.

Footnotes
  1. Staff Reporter (2007-10-02). "Maldives help for Qatar pair hurt in blast by aishath maya". Gulf Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  2. "Tourists hurt in Maldives blast". BBC News. 2007-09-29. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  3. "Some perpetrators of Sultan Park bombing have confessed – Police". Haveeru Daily. 2007-10-01. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  4. "Ten arrested over Maldives blast". BBC News. 2007-10-01. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Tourism Minister Mahamood Shaugee said: 'In total, police have arrested 10 suspects.' Seven of the arrested are Maldives nationals and two are Bangladeshi nationals.
  5. "Police release details of two plotters, more CCTV footage". Haveeru Daily. 2007-10-04. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  6. Chan Tau Chou. Maldives faces social divide. Al Jazeera English. 6 November 2007.
  7. "ABC News: ABC News". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  8. Dasgupta, Anupam (2011-01-23). "A Male-volent link". The Week. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. It surprised India when Nasheed freed two prime accused in the 2007 Sultan Park bombings in Male in August 2010. We are planning to send Mohamed Sobah and Ahmed Naseer [the two accused] back to jail. We feel they are dangerous to our society and we are not willing to risk internal security, said Ahmed Muneer, deputy commissioner of the Maldives police.

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