Brussels attacks: Anonymous vows revenge on Isis for deadly explosions and promises to 'strike back against them'

The group has been active in taking propaganda accounts offline and other attacks — though its methods have proved controversial

Anonymous has launched a “total war” on Isis, with a pledge to try and wipe it off the internet and take its money.

The group has been threatening the group with attacks since the shootings at Charlie Hebdo, at the beginning of 2015. But it stepped up those efforts in the wake of attacks in Paris — and has promised a new wave after deadly explosions struck Brussels this week.

Those attacks will include attempting to keep Isis accounts off social media sites and taking money from them, a supporter of the group says in a new video.

The group has vowed to keep “hacking their websites, shutting down their Twitter accounts and stealing their Bitcoins”.

The group claimed that it has already been successful in silencing Twitter accounts and other communication and propaganda tools online.

“We have silenced thousands of Twitter accounts directly linked to ISIS,” the speaker says in a video shot in the usual way of Anonymous, with a computer voice overlaid on an image of the famous mask. “We severely punish Daesh on the dark net, hacked their electronic portfolio and stolen money from the terrorists.

“We have laid siege to your propaganda websites, tested them with our cyber attacks, however we will not rest as long as terrorists continue their actions around the world.

“We will strike back against them... we will defend the rights of freedom and tolerance.”

Anonymous has launched major campaigns under the name OpISIS in the wake of terror attacks in Paris and then in Brussels. But the group has occasionally been criticised for being overly optimistic about its methods, which tend to involve simply shutting down Twitter accounts.