In wake of Paris attacks, Anonymous declares 'war' on IS

Hacker collective Anonymous has announced that it is at war with Islamic State (IS), which claimed responsibility for last week's Paris attacks that killed more than 130 people.

Through a YouTube video and several tweets, the underground organisation said that it had already taken steps to take down several websites affiliated with IS, which Anonymous refers to as Daesh, in campaigns it is calling OpISIS and OpParis. An account purporting to be the official OpParis Twitter feed later said that more than 3,000 pro-ISIS Twitter accounts had been taken down.

"Make no mistake: #Anonymous is at war with #Daesh. We won't stop opposing #IslamicState. We're also better hackers. #OpISIS," the GroupAnon Twitter account posted on Sunday.

The video posted to YouTube soon after confirmed that the operation was in response to the terror attacks on Paris. In the video, a man dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask reiterated that Anonymous had declared war on IS.

"Expect massive cyber attacks. War is declared. Get prepared," he said in French, according to online media.

Anonymous is a loosely affiliated group of underground hackers that conducts cyber attacks and leaks information on various organisations. Its previous targets have included recognised states, as well as large organisations across industries. For example, in 2013, the collective announced that it would conduct cyber attacks against the oil & gas industry in an operation it called OpPetrol.

Now, it appears the organisation has turned its sights on IS, which uses the Internet to spread propaganda and help recruit new militants. Anonymous said that its aim is to disrupt IS's online activities to the point that the terrorist organisation is "wiped off the internet".