12 tourists injured in Maldives explosion

MALE: 12 tourists were injured in a suspected bomb explosion on Saturday in the Maldives capital, Male, a witness said.   

The blast occurred near a mosque at the entrance to the capital's Sultan Park, a stop-off for tour groups in the capital.   

In London, the British Foreign Office said the explosion was caused by a bomb and two Britons were among the injured. "We have been informed that two Britons were injured. It was a bomb blast outside the main mosque at Male," a spokesman said.   

News media in the Indian Ocean archipelago said a Japanese and eight Chinese tourists were injured. The explosion was triggered by a home-made device using a mobile phone and washing machine motor attached to a gas cylinder. A witness said he saw nails scattered in the park before the area was cleared by security personnel.   

The park is in the shadow of the Maldives army headquarters, and several surveillance cameras are trained on the area. More than 500,000 tourists visited the Maldives last year, and the tourist industry is the linchpin of the country's $1 billion economy. The Muslim country has a reputation for tranquility and the capital has not witnessed gunfire or explosions since an attempted coup in 1998.