Anti IS group behind BBC website hack?

London: A group that says it targets online activity linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed it was behind an attack on the BBC's website.

All the BBC's websites were unavailable for several hours on New Year's Eve. The problems on the BBC sites began on Thursday, and meant visitors saw an error message instead of the intended content.

The group, calling itself New World Hacking, said it had carried out the attack as a "test of its capabilities".

The corporation's press office said on Saturday that the BBC would not be commenting on the group's claim. In a tweet to BBC technology, the group said: "We are based in the US, but we strive to take down IS affiliated websites, also IS members."