Three pro-Russian hackers have been arrested on suspicion of cyberattacks against Spain and other NATO countries for terrorist purposes, Spanish police said Saturday.

The suspects were detained for their alleged participation in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattacks against government institutions and strategic sectors, the Guardia Civil said.

It was not said whether the three suspects, who have not been named, have been charged or are in custody.

The cyberattacks are believed to have targeted web pages of public and private sector organizations, critical infrastructure and essential services in countries supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, the report said.

Police published a video on the social media platform X of a raid on the home of one of the suspects, showing a Soviet-era hammer and sickle flag pinned to the wall.

“These computer attacks have been organised by the hacktivist group NoName057(16), (which started) after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and (which) is one of the most active,” the Guardia Civil said in a statement.

“In their own founding manifesto, this group acknowledges that they will ‘respond proportionately to the hostile and openly anti-Russian actions of Western Russophobes’.”

The arrests took place in Manacor on the Spanish island of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, and in Huelva and Seville, in southern Spain, police said.

Police say the investigation is still ongoing.