Turkish police carried out raids in a dozen cities arresting 32 people, alleged to be linked to the "hactivist" group Anonymous, state media reported Monday.

The swoop by Turkish police follows on from an operation in Spain, which netted three suspected Anonymous hackers on Friday. Anonymous responded to the arrests by launching an attack on the website of Spain's national police force.

A statement published in Spain denied those arrested belonged to the group. "You have not detained three participants of Anonymous. We have no members and we are not a group of any kind. You have, however, detained three civilians expressing themselves," the group said. "You are providing us with the fuel, but now you must expect the fire."

In Turkey, Anonymous is blamed for hacking the website of Turkey's election board days before Sunday's national elections, as well as launching attacks on the country's telecommunications watchdog, the prime minister's office and parliament as a protest to Turkey's plans to introduce Internet filters.

The group, which has become a world-wide phenomenon, came to prominence last year following a series of high-profile attacks launched against companies it believed were opponents of WikiLeaks.