BBC Twitter account apparently hacked by Assad sympathizers
LONDON Supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad appear to have hijacked the Twitter account for the BBC's weather service.
The hackers identified themselves as members of the Syrian Electronic Army, a group that has carried out a string of web attacks against targets such as Al-Jazeera, which it sees as sympathetic to Syria's rebels.
A series of messages posted by the BBC Weather Twitter account on Thursday ranged from political to anti-Semitic to comical. One read "Long Live Syria Al-Assad," while another said: "Saudi weather station down due to head on-collision with camel."
A further message claimed Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered terrorists to launch chemical weapons at civilian areas in North Syria.
Another tweet read: "Chaotic weather forecast for Lebanon as the government decides to distance itself from the Milky Way."
The BBC says the Twitter account is one of its own and that it is investigating.