Maldives Police Announce Arrest of Key Suspect in Nasheed Attack

MALE, Maldives — Maldives police said Sunday they arrested a person believed to be the prime suspect in an explosion that critically wounded the country's former president and which was blamed on Muslim extremists. 

Police said they now have three of four suspects in custody. Thursday's blast targeted Mohamed Nasheed, currently the speaker of parliament, who is recovering in a hospital after multiple surgeries.   Nasheed has been an outspoken critic of religious extremism in the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, where preaching and practicing other faiths are banned by law. He has been criticized by religious hard-liners for his closeness to the West and liberal policies.  Nasheed, 53, remains in the hospital after initial life-saving surgeries to his head, chest, abdomen and limbs. A relative tweeted early Sunday that Nasheed had been able to have long conversations with some family members.