Pro-Syrian group hacks U.S. Marines website

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Pro-Syrian government hackers defaced a Marine Corps recruitment website Monday, posting a letter on Marines.com arguing that the Syrian government is "fighting a vile common enemy."

Capt. Eric Flanagan, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the Marines site had been hacked. The Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility.

"The Syrian army should be your ally not your enemy," the letter read. "Refuse your orders and concentrate on the real reason every soldier joins their military, to defend their homeland. You're more than welcome to fight alongside our army rather than against it."

President Obama has proposed an unspecified military strike against the Syrian regime in retaliation for what U.S. officials say is evidence that Syrian troops used chemical weapons against their own people. There has been no indication that Marines or other U.S. ground forces would be involved in such a strike.

The hack included pictures of people wearing U.S. military uniforms holding signs reading "I will not fight for Al Qaeda" and "I didn't join the Marine Corps to Fight for Al Qaeda in a Syrian civil war."

Al-Qaeda operatives have been fighting government troops in some areas of Syria.

The Syrian Electronic Army has recently claimed responsibility for hacking into The New York Times, The Washington Post and other websites.