Malta arrests eight in probe into journalist's killing

VALLETA: Maltese authorities have arrested eight people in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a statement Monday.

Blogger Caruana Galizia, who was 53 when she was killed in a car bomb attack on October 16, had made repeated and detailed corruption allegations against both Muscat's inner circle and the opposition.

The force of the blast reduced her car to pieces and catapulted the journalist’s body into a nearby field, witnesses said. She leaves a husband and three sons.

Thousands of people, holding candles and waving placards, poured into the streets in the island’s northeast resort town Sliema for a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to the reporter. People left candles, flowers and messages of support at makeshift shrines in the street.



Half an hour before the explosion tore into her car, Galizia wrote on her blog: “There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.”

Muscat said police and the military were involved in an operation following a weeks-long investigation into the high-profile murder.

"During this operation, 8 persons were arrested" the statement said, adding that they faced "reasonable suspicion in connection with involvement in the murder" of Caruana Galizia.

All the suspects were Maltese nationals, Muscat's statement added.