The hacktivist group Anonymous has threatened to expose the identities of up to 1,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan in an online post.

In a press release titled "Operation KKK Hoodsoff", the group labels members of the KKK as "terrorists" and claims "you've had blood on your hands for nearly 200 years".

It comes after a year-long conflict between the two groups which began during the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, when members of the KKK allegedly threatened to attack protesters following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

In the press release, Anonymous said: "Ku Klux Klan, we never stopped watching you. We know who you are.

"You are abhorrent. Criminal. You are more than extremists. You are more than a hate group.

"You operate much more like terrorists and you should be recognised as such. You are terrorists that hide your identities beneath sheets and infiltrate society on every level.

"The privacy of the Ku Klux Klan no longer exists in cyberspace. You've had blood on your hands for nearly 200 years.

"You continue to inflict civil rights violations, commit violent crimes and solicit others to commit violent criminal acts. You seek to intimidate and/or eliminate those that are different from you and those that you dislike by any means possible.

"We will release, to the global public, the identities of up to 1,000 klan members, Ghoul Squad affiliates and other close associates of various fractions of the Ku Klux Klan across the United States."

In November last year, Anonymous took over a KKK-linked Twitter account and exposed social media accounts it claimed belonged to KKK members.

That took place ahead of a grand jury decision on whether to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the death of Mr Brown.

The group has pledged to attack those who threaten freedom of speech.

After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January this year, Anonymous took down an alleged jihadist website and also took down Twitter and Facebook accounts linked to extremism under "Operation ISIS".

(Sky News)