Trouble in paradise: Bomb attack on former Maldives president exposes threat of extremism on resort island

The Maldives was shaken by a major bomb blast this week. With a recent history of locals joining ISIS, experts tell Shweta Sharma about the fears raised by militants returning home

Soldiers secure a site after a bomb blast injured former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed in Male (AFP/Getty)

The speaker of parliament and former president Mohamed Nasheed was injured in a targeted bomb blast that rocked the capital Male on Thursday with some describing it as “an attack on Maldives’ democracy and economy”.

While no terrorist group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, experts say it is possible a major homegrown outfit could be behind the attack, in a country that has “a history of pro-Islamist ideology among some of its population”.

Speaking to The Independent, Kabir Taneja, an expert on the Middle East and terrorism, says the country has the highest per capita number of foreign fighters who went to Syria to fight for the Islamic State group.