According to police reports and intelligence, the terrorist group is organized by a group of religious extremists and they started growing their numbers in early 2019. Mohmad Hameed, chief of police, stated terrorists who fought in Syrian and Afghan conflicts came to the Maldives to spread extreme ideologies through the islands. Since then, the Maldives Police Service has tried to suppress the growing extremists. In accordance with the two males arrested on Friday, authorities confirmed six other arrests; all of which are males ranging from ages 18 to 34 years old.
Source: https://edition.mv/news/20635