Anonymous Claim To Have Foiled ISIS Attack On Italy

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Anonymous are stepping up their game in the fight against ISIS, if latest claim by the hacktivist collective is to be believed.

It has now been over a month since “Operation ISIS” was launched by a faction of Anonymous. The goal of the campaign, that started following the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris, is to combat the online activity of ISIS, to disrupt the jihadist group’s recruitment efforts and its ability to plan and execute real-world operations.

So far, Anonymous have taken down thousands of social media accounts associated with ISIS, and disrupted the functionality of some messaging platforms employed by the terrorist organisation. The campaign may now be bearing real-world fruit.

The primary account behind the operation, @OpParisOfficial, has released a statement claiming the activists have foiled one terrorist attack and are working to prevent others.

A now deleted tweet, originally posted on 25 December – Christmas Day -, read:

“In this month we are working in silence. We have already foiled one attack, ISIS against Italy, we hope to block others.”

The following day, an overt threat to ISIS supporters was posted:

“We’re digging your graves. We have found you, we are in your accounts and phones, the nightmare is about to begin. Isis will implode.”

Both of the original tweets have been deleted, however a further message was posted emphasising that the attack was stopped and indicating evidence will be provided in due time:

“Yes, 1 target has been stopped, a video will be released after the op is completed, no time to satisfy your curiosity, stay tuned.. #OpParis”

The holder of the account is believed to be a resident of Italy, as many of the posts feature some use of Italian. This includes a message to those sceptical of the group’s achievements:

“We don’t need to be believed, the important thing is that no one dies. Non abbiamo bisogno di esser creduti, l’importante che nessuno muoia.”

There has so far been no statement from Italian authorities either denying or confirming these reports.