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Boy Scout foils attack on Maldives president

  • Story Highlights
  • "One brave boy saved the president's life," presidential spokesman says
  • The teenage Boy Scout grabbed assailant's knife, was treated for wound
  • Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom survives assassination attempt
  • Knife touched the president's shirt but not his body, spokesman says
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(CNN) -- A teenager described as a Boy Scout saved Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from a knife attack Tuesday, a presidential spokesman said.

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Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The assailant "aimed at the president from about 10 feet away, but another young boy -- about 15 years old -- maybe one feet away jumped to prevent him," spokesman Mohamed Shareef said.

The boy "came in the way and grabbed the knife," Shareef told The Associated Press. "One brave boy saved the president's life."

The attacker's knife was wrapped in a national flag, Shareef said. "The knife touched the president's shirt but not his body," he said.

The teen, whose name was given as Jaisham, is a Boy Scout, Shareef told AP. Jaisham received a hand wound and was flown to the capital of Male for treatment because he could not move some of his fingers, Shareef told AP.

Gayoom was unhurt, Shareef said.

The Maldives is a nation of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India.

The president was visiting one of those islands, Hoarafushi, to inaugurate an energy project, Shareef said.

Police arrested the attacker, he said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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