Bomb blast puts former Maldives president in hospital, as he undergoes surgery to treat shrapnel wounds

Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives and the current speaker of the country’s parliament, is undergoing surgery after suffering shrapnel wounds following a bomb blast outside his home on Thursday night.

The injuries were caused when a bomb attached to a motorbike detonated as he left his residence late on Thursday, with the explosion heard across the country’s capital, Male, leaving the 53-year-old with shrapnel wounds.

After he arrived at the medical facility, a spokesperson for Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party confirmed he had been injured but was “stable” amid “ongoing” surgeries.

Footage on social media showed the aftermath of the explosion, with the remains of the damaged motorbike visible and police on the scene to aid those injured.

Bystanders were seen on video providing support to individuals who were caught in the bomb blast, with one person seen on the ground with what appears to be a bandage wrapped around their leg.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion and security officials have not publicly identified a potential culprit.

A UK national is believed to have been injured in the explosion, according to local media reports, and Australian authorities have dispatched a team to the country to support the investigation.

After the explosion, the current Maldives president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, was seen arriving at the ADK hospital where Nasheed was being treated, having held a cabinet meeting earlier in the day and ahead of a nationally televised address on the situation.

Speaking in the wake of the bomb blast, Solih, who is seen as a close political ally of Nasheed, called the explosion an attack on “democracy and economy”, with security being stepped up around the country’s islands.

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