"November 3" Play: The failed coup d’état of November 3, 1988.

On November 3, 1988, an attempted coup was launched led by businessmen Abdullah Luthufi, Sagar Ahmed Nasir and assisted by armed mercenaries of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) attacked the capital Island Male', killing 19 people, including eight members of the defense forces. However, due to the vigilance and courageous actions of soldiers in the National Security Service, PLOTE lost key leaders within the first few minutes of the attack. This effected a chain reaction as the terrorists failed to enact their attack plan. The Maldives National Security Service took advantage of the chaos within the terrorist group, mobilized their units and forcing the terrorist to withdraw.