Authorities have made two more arrests in the counter-terrorism operation in Maduvvari island of Raa atoll.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) launched the joint operation on Wednesday morning, while the first arrest was made in the afternoon.

In addition to the 30-year-old, police have arrested two other Maldivian men from Maduvvari. A 34-year-old was arrested at around 6pm while a 29-year-old was taken into custody at around 10pm.

The joint operation conducted by the Maldives Police Service and Maldives National Defence Force aims to combat extremism and terrorism, recruitment of people for such causes, and to create awareness in the minds of residents as well as to protect women and children who have been deprived of fundamental rights stated in the constitution.

Noting that some of the locals are taking advantage of women and children and depriving them from some basic fundamental rights inscribed in the constitution, police said that it will not hesitate to take the necessary steps specified in the law on information attained against those advocating such acts.

RaajjeMV understands that the operation will continue in seven other islands.

The search operation in Maduvvari was prompted by the child bride case that emerged from the island in late November. While the the 13-year-old is to have given birth since, the story only broke after her rapist was violently attacked by his crew-mates on a sea-cucumber fishing boat over an ideological disagreement.

While the case is to have been reported to the relevant authorities in June 2018, the young girl’s parents were taken into custody earlier this month.

Earlier this week, Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed revealed that there are over 1,400 individuals with extremist ideologies who are "willing to kill" at the slightest provocation in the country. It was also revealed that the Islamic State had planned a bomb attack targeting the Maldives in 2017, and that the authorities were able to neutralize the threat.

In a tweet posted on Wednesday evening, the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) said that it "has long awaited for a multi-agency operation against violent extremism and terrorism" and added that the operation launched "is a clear indication of the government's strong will and the honest intention to tackle this issue."

NCTC added that such "decisive actions" would yield favourable results in its Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism efforts.