Hoax bomb emails hit thousands of schools in Italy, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Thousands of schools in Italy and hundreds more in Scotland and Northern Ireland received emailed bomb threats on Wednesday. Hundreds of Italian schools were evacuated, but Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and UK police said there was no real danger.
About 6,000 Italian schools received the same bomb threat by email on Wednesday, according to Italy's education ministry. Al Jazeera put the figure at about 6,300. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told the La7 TV channel that at least 300 schools were affected and that the number could rise. Hundreds were reported evacuated. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks so far showed no sign of a concrete danger. On Facebook, she wrote that the threats appeared linked to "a strategy aimed at generating alarm and concern". A meeting of government ministers was convened, and investigations are under way. Valditara said the incident was most likely a cyberattack rather than a genuine threat. He added that intelligence services were working to identify those behind it. Reuters saw a copy of the email and reported that it also threatened Meloni. According to Reuters, it was signed by "Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan". Italian press reports said the email included the words "we have come to annihilate you". Al Jazeera reported that the same purported author claimed responsibility for email bomb threats sent to newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria on Friday. Schools in the UK were hit on the…
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