Bomb alerts trigger evacuations at hundreds of schools in Italy and warnings in Northern Ireland
More than 300 schools in Italy were evacuated after receiving bomb threat messages, while schools in Northern Ireland received similar emails but remained open.
At least 300 schools in Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after bomb alert messages were sent to them, officials said. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told La7 TV that the alerts appeared to be hoaxes and that the number of affected schools could increase.
In Northern Ireland, the Education Authority reported that a number of schools received threatening emails but police considered the threats non-credible, allowing the schools to stay open.
One school in Rome notified parents via a messaging app that students had been moved to a safe area and were supervised by staff.
The Italian email was signed "Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan," and the same name was used in bomb threat emails sent to newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria on Friday.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the threats were intended to spread fear and anxiety, adding that they were not always linked to foreign actors and could also involve individuals seeking attention.
Police in Rome are investigating the incidents, according to a police spokesperson.
Separately, France summoned Iran's ambassador after accusing Tehran of a cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets. Iran's foreign ministry rejected the allegations as baseless.
European officials have expressed concern that hoax threats may be part of a broader "hybrid" disruption campaign, which some have attributed to Russia, though Moscow denies involvement.