Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa
DUBAI: Assailants have hacked the Twitter account of Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa and posted hostile and insulting videos, the foreign ministry and local media reported on Saturday.
The foreign ministry did not accuse any party of carrying out the hacking.
"The Account of H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs has been hacked. Kindly be aware," the foreign ministry said in a message posted on its Twitter account.
The ministry said in a statement to Bahrain News Agency that the Twitter account of Foreign Minister was hacked today (Saturday) by a terrorist group attributing false tweets to the Minister.
“The Ministry affirms that it is currently working on restoring the account after the hacking incident from this terrorist group, that fears hearing the truth in the Minister's tweets which often exposes their terrorist nature. The Ministry is also working with the concerned authorities to take all necessary measures to hold accountable the individuals behind this despicable act,” it added.
The hackers used the minister's account to retweet postings from another account identified as Numour al-Huriya (Tigers of Liberty).
No group immediately claimed responsibility for taking over the account, though images posted bore the logo of the Mokhtar Brigade, a Shiite militant group that has claimed several bombings and attacks on security forces.
Bloodied bodies, demolished mosques and what appeared to be a child's illustration of war rolled down the official Twitter page of Foreign Minister.
The Arabic-language al-Wasat newspaper said on its website that hackers had posted several tweets and videos insulting to the minister. "Judging by the tweets, the hacking began at around 5:30 in the morning," it said.
Tensions have increased in Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, after a series of measures by the government to curb what it calls illegal activities by opposition groups and individuals it accuses of fomenting sectarian tensions.
Five people were killed last week when Bahraini security forced moved against supporters of the spiritual leader of Bahrain's Shi'ite campaign outside his house and arrested nearly 300 people, including several it said were escaped prisoners.
The state accuses its neighbour Iran of stoking tensions in the country, a charge the Islamic Republic denies.
Meanwhile, Qatar is investigating the May 24 hack of its official news agency website and Twitter account in which damaging comments about a raft of sensitive regional issues were falsely attributed to the Emir.
FBI experts are helping with the investigation, media reported on Friday.
(Reuters / AFP / AP)
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