Anonymous, the online hacking group, is pledging to avenge the Charlie Hebdo attack that left 12 people dead on Wednesday — by shutting down Jihadist websites.
According to a report in Mirror , Anonymous posted a video to YouTube revealing they will hit terrorist websites in what they are calling #OpCharlieHebdo, in reference to the massacre which took place at the French satirical magazine. Editor-in-chief and vocal freedom of speech supporter Stephane Charbonnier was among those shot dead by two brothers.
The attackers reportedly asked for their victims by name, after they forced a woman at the front desk to let them in. Then, they methodically proceeded to walk through the building terrorizing staffers and killing those apparently on a hit list.
Anonymous doesn’t have many fans among internet users, as they are known to disrupt websites they don’t agree with by hacking them. The video shows a man wearing the Guy Fawkes mask and speaking with their voice disguised. The person says the group has “declare war on you, the terrorists” — in a reference to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
“We will track you down – every last one – and will kill you,” the Anonymous person says. “You allowed yourselves to kill innocent people, we will therefore avenge their deaths.”
The video description states that it is “a message for Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other terrorists,” and was uploaded to Anonymous’ Belgian account.
In a statement published to Pastebin , titled “A Message to the Enemies of Freedom of Expression,” Anonymous offers condolences to the families of the Charlie Hebdo attack, and promises to avenge the deaths of the 12 victims. The group also states that “freedom of expression has suffered inhuman assault… and it is our duty to react.”
Anonymous is an activist network founded in 2003, which became widely known for several of PR stunts attacking government , religious, and corporate entities via distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults in an attempt to overwhelm their network, so that it is impossible to access their network.
The Anonymous video claims the group will avenge the Charlie Hebdo attacks by taking down their social media networks.
“You will not impose your sharia law in our democracies, we will not let your stupidity kill our liberties and our freedom of expression. We have warned you; expect your destruction.
“We will track you everywhere on the planet, nowhere will you be safe. We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forget. We do not forgive. Be afraid of us, Islamic State and Al Qaeda – you will get our vengeance.”
The Anonymous threats of revenge for the Charlie Hebdo attack comes on the heels of the hacking of several websites in and around Paris. An image of the ISIS flag appeared on the affected sites.
It remains to be seen what Anonymous will do, and how it will accomplish their calls for revenge on the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. On Friday, police killed Cherif and Said Kouachi, the two brothers implicated in the murder of 12 people at the satirical magazine.
[Image via Independent /Twitter ]