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Two detained as Maldives probes bombing attack

Two people have been arrested for a bombing that injured 12 foreigners in the Maldives, officials said, as the president of the Indian Ocean archipelago blamed dissidents for the attack.

The bombing in an area of the capital Male popular with holiday-makers has damaged the nation's reputation as one of the world's safest destinations.

"This is the first time that we have suffered such a terrorist attack in the Maldives and in Male," said Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled the islands since 1978 and is Asia's longest serving leader.

He blamed "very selfish and irresponsible ... people who for political reasons have been calling for the boycott of the Maldives on the tourism front."

"They have been calling on tour operators to boycott the Maldives. They also have to share some responsibility for what happened today because they have been jeopardizing the stability and peace of the country," he said.

Government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said police arrested the suspects hours after the blast. No motive had been established yet, and it was unclear whether they would be charged.

Shareef said it was too early to say whether the bomb was the work of Islamic militants.

Some Western diplomats have expressed concern about the potential for violence in this Sunni Muslim country.

Half the population is under 18, reasonably well-educated and with few prospects for good jobs. Some young people have turned to drug use, while others have embraced a conservative strain of Islam that had been virtually unheard of on the islands just a few years ago.

Dissidents view Gayoom as a dictator, and political parties have only been legal on the Sunni Muslim-dominated 1,192 coral islands since 2005, when the president began a series of reforms in the face of pro-democracy protests.

No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, which police said was a crude device activated by a mobile phone.

Officials said the two suspects worked in a local blacksmith's shop. They can be held for up three weeks before being presented to a judge.

Tourism Minister Mahamood Shougee meanwhile insisted the islands' resorts -- most of which are on outlying islands away from Male -- were still perfectly safe.

Authorities will seek help from Interpol, the US and India in investigating the blast, Shareef said.
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