Ten Held Over Maldives Bomb Attack on Tourists

Police investigating this weekend's nail bomb attack in the Maldives, which injured a dozen foreign tourists including two Britons, have now arrested 10 people, officials said today.

"Some of them were trying to flee the country and were apprehended at the airport," said Mohamed Shareef, a Maldives government spokesman.

The attack near a mosque in the islands' capital, Male, injured 12 foreign tourists, including a honeymooning British couple, Christian and Jennifer Donelan, both 32 and from Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

The Maldives tourism minister, Mahamood Shaugee, said two of the 10 arrested were Bangladeshi nationals. He added that the Britons, who were most seriously injured, were recovering well from burns and would be repatriated for further treatment.

According to Ahmed Afaal, managing director of the ADK hospital in Male where the couple were being treated, Mrs Donelan suffered first-degree and second-degree burns covering up to 40% of her body. Mr Donelan, the director of a computer firm, suffered 27% burns.

Eight Chinese and two Japanese tourists were also hurt in the blast, the first bomb attack on the island since 1988.

It is not yet clear who was behind the attack or what the target was, but Mr Shareef said police had informed him they were "very, very close" to solving the case. The United States announced today it had sent FBI agents to help the investigation.

Yesterday, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, president of the Indian Ocean archipelago, appeared to blame dissidents and a British-based pro-democracy group.

The president, who has been in power for 29 years, said that "very selfish and irresponsible" people were behind the attacks. "[These] people ... have been calling on tour operators to boycott the Maldives. They have to share some responsibility for what happened because they have been jeopardising the stability and peace of the country."

Opposition and rights groups have in the past called for a tourism boycott to protest against President Gayoom, who has been accused by critics of dragging his feet on democratic reforms and of cracking down on dissent.

Political parties only became legal two years ago, when the government initiated reforms after pro-democracy protests.

The Maldives receives more than 600,000 tourists a year and has a reputation for tranquility. The capital has not witnessed gunfire or explosions since an attempted coup 19 years ago.

Despite the tourist idyll, the Maldives has severe social problems, including issues linked to crime and drugs. Mohammed Latheef, of the Maldivian democratic party, said: "The Maldives is a place just waiting to explode."

The injured British couple, who had been staying on Baros, one of 87 tourist islands in the Maldives, had married less than a fortnight ago, near Lake Como, in Italy, friends said.

Leigh Nicholson, the partner of Mr Donelan's friend, Tim Bulleyment, said: "Tim was on the phone to Christian briefly when he came out of the operating theatre on Saturday. He ... sounded very rough. Even though he sounded poorly, he was quite philosophical and said, 'at least we are alive'."

Ms Nicholson said Mr Donelan worked in Qatar and was a talented sportsman. As well as playing hockey, he was one of the country's best squash players and used to play for England.