Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed injured in blast

An IED went off while Nasheed was getting into his car: Report

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was injured after a suspected bomb went off while he was getting into his car in the capital of Male on Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Nasheed was getting into his car when what looked like an improvised explosive device went off, a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) official told AFP. The IED was reportedly attached to a parked motorcycle. He has been taken to hospital—no details have yet emerged about his condition.

The police released a brief statement confirming the incident.

"Following an explosion... Speaker of Parliament President Mohamed Nasheed has sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at ADK Hospital," the statement said.

Nasheed is the current Speaker in the Maldivian Parliament, a role he took up after his party won a landslide victory in the April 2019 elections. He was Maldives' first democratically-elected president after winning elections in 2008, but was toppled four years later in a coup. He left the country, returning after his party won the 2018 elections.

In a statement on Twitter, Maldivian Foreign Minister condemned the attack.

"Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society. My thoughts and prayers are with President Nasheed and others injured in this attack, as well as their families."