FBI Assists Qatar in Investigating Recent Cyber Attack

Reports indicate that experts from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are assisting Qatar in investigating the hacking of the country's state news agency. An informed source told AFP on Friday that following a request from the Qatari government for the FBI to investigate the hacking incident, a team of FBI experts traveled to Qatar last week. The source stated that assistance was requested from the Americans, and a team was dispatched to Doha, where they are collaborating with Qatar's Ministry of Interior. According to the report, two other unnamed countries are also cooperating with Qatar in this investigation. The source added that the results of this investigation are likely to be published next week. Following the release of statements attributed to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, criticizing the U.S. and praising Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood in the state news agency, the Qatari government announced that the news agency had been hacked and that these statements were false. Despite the Qatari government's denial of these statements, Saudi Arabia and the UAE reacted, with some Saudi media accusing Qatar of standing alongside 'the enemies of the Arab nation.' In this context, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have blocked the website of Qatar's Al Jazeera network. Al Arabiya quoted a UAE Foreign Ministry official stating that all Qatari news websites have been blocked in the UAE. Meanwhile, amid rising tensions between these Arab countries, the Emir of Qatar traveled to Kuwait last Wednesday. Regional media report that Kuwait is seeking to mediate between these three powerful Gulf countries. Reuters previously reported that the new tensions between Qatar and the two Gulf countries suggest that disagreements among these countries are likely increasing behind the scenes. Earlier, in March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, three members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in an unprecedented move due to disagreements over Doha's support for Islamists.