Hackers hit Bahraini minister’s Twitter site

Tehran-backed militants linked to attack on account

ABU DHABI // Hackers linked to Bahraini Shiite militants broke into the Twitter account of Manama’s foreign minister and posted images and threats against the royal family.

Some of the items posted on Khaled bin Ahmad Al Khalifa’s official Twitter account yesterday bore the logo of the Saraya Al Mokhtar. The militant group that emerged in 2013 has claimed attacks against Bahraini secu- rity forces, mostly with improvised roadside bombs, and is skilled at social media and online propaganda.

The hackers, who controlled the account for about four hours, posted statements in support of the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia.

They retweeted posts from an account linked to Shiite militants in the Qatif area of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, called Numour Al Huriya.

Bahrain’s foreign ministry confirmed the hack on its own Twitter account, saying: “The account of minister of foreign affairs has been hacked. Kindly be aware.”

Later yesterday it said that the account “has been reclaimed”.

“We will soon reap the skulls of you who danced on the blood of our men in Bahrain, Qatif and Yemen,” one of the tweets posted by hackers said.

Tensions between Bahraini authorities and the opposition have escalated. Five supporters of Isa Qassim, the country’s most senior Shiite cleric, were killed last week after security forces moved to disperse a sit-in at his house to protest against his arrest. Qassim, who was also the spiritual leader of the banned opposition group Al Wefaq, is being tried on charges of collecting donations illegally and laundering money, but the verdict has been delayed as tensions rise.

The hacking comes days after an explosion in Qatif killed two men that Saudi authorities said were transporting explosives.

Bahrain and its allies in the GCC accuse Iran of stoking unrest in the Shiite-majority kingdom