Ok, So this is an attack targeted at nodes. Why would someone go through all the trouble to do that? Can this be a strategy to force people to accept SegWit or to make them realize that it is needed? The other possibility is that this is a external attack from a competitor, to take the network down.
What would be your opinion on the motive for this attack?
I suspect it is related to the blocksize issue. For example force a bigger blocksize etc. It will not bring down the Bitcoin network at least at the current levels, but it is having a negative impact. Increasing bandwidth costs for nodes, slowing down legitimate transactions, etc.