Anonymous declares war on the Westboro Baptists

A battle royale appears to be brewing between two radical groups with a reputation for intransigence - the notorious Westboro Baptist Church and the leaderless group of 'hacktivists' known as Anonymous.

Last week the self-styled "collective super-consciousness" Anonymous announced that it would no longer tolerate the church's "venomous statements of hatred" and "flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism".

For Anonymous the declaration of war on the church, which runs the websites www.godhatesfags.com and www.godhatesthemedia.com, marks something of a return to old ground. Although the hackers made headlines last year when they targeted companies that had blacklisted WikiLeaks they first rose to prominence three years when they attacked another 'church' - the Church of Scientology - over what it saw as its attempts to censor the internet.

However, the Westboro Baptist Church did not take kindly to being told that its "propaganda and detestable doctrine" would be "eradicated" from the web. The fundamentalist Christians, who are led by Rev Fred Phelps and who often picket soldiers' funerals, responded with an open letter of its own that described Anonymous as "a puddle of pimple-faced nerds" and invited them to "bring it".

There was also some confusion about who had ordered the attack on the Westboro church. Some members of Anonymous subsequently claimed that the church had manufactured the threat to generate publicity for itself.

A second post on the Anonymous message board at the weekend distanced itself from the original threat. It read: "Our best guess is that you heard about us on that newfangled TV of yours and thought we might be some good money for your little church. You thought you could play with Anonymous. You observed our rising notoriety and thought you would exploit our paradigm for your own gain." ·