Maldives: Radical Islamic attacks unsettle the country

As the Long War Journal reported on 16 April 2020, the Islamic State group (IS) has claimed its first attack on the Maldives in its weekly Al-Naba newsletter. Five state-owned boats were burned and destroyed on Mahibadhoo Island, but no persons were injured. Thomas Muller, Persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Although there had been an attack on three tourists in February 2020 (WWR, 20 April 2020), that attack had not been claimed by IS at such a public level. Adding to the woes of the COVID-19 outbreak and its devastating consequences for the tourist industry, now the Maldives clearly has a problem with a growing IS influence in its territory. This will be another reason for the tiny Christian minority to continue keeping a low profile, as it always has."