Bahrain foreign minister’s Twitter hacked by suspected Shiite militants

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, left. His Twitter account was hacked for several hours. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Abu Dhabi // Hackers apparently linked to Bahraini Shiite militants hacked into the Twitter account of Manama’s foreign minister and posted images and threats against the royal family.

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

The hackers, who controlled the account for around four hours, posted statements in support of the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia. They also retweeted posts from another account linked to Shiite militants in the Qatif area of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province who call themselves Numour Al Huriya.

Bahrain’s foreign ministry confirmed the hack on its own Twitter account, saying “The Account of HE Minister of Foreign Affairs has been hacked. Kindly be aware.” Later on Saturday it said that the account “has been reclaimed”.

The commandeering of the minister’s account comes as tensions between Bahraini authorities and the opposition escalate in the kingdom. 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 and trial.

Qassim, who was also the spiritual leader of the now banned main opposition group, Al Wefaq, has been on trial on charges of collecting donations illegally and laundering money, but the announcement of the verdict has been delayed as tensions have increased.

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

“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.

Bahrain and its allies in the GCC accuse Iran of stoking unrest in the Shiite-majority kingdom and training and arming increasingly disaffected Bahraini Shiites.