"The English-language and Arabic websites of Qatar-based broadcaster al-Jazeera were forced down this morning after a spate of suspected hacker attacks last night. Neither aljazeera.net, which gets the most hits of any Arabic website in the world, nor english.aljazeera.net [3], which launched on Monday, were available this morning after suspected attacks crashed both sites. [C]ommunications manager Jihad Ali Ballout told MediaGuardian.co.uk the company was doing everything possible to get the sites up and running.. ... Asked where the attacks originated, Ali Ballout said: "I wish I knew. There are rumors that the attacks originated in the US but at this moment in time we cannot verify that. But it is worrying and an indication perhaps [that] in certain quarters there is a fear of freedom of expression and freedom of the press."