Coordinated emails sent shortly before 10 a.m. local time disrupted daily operations across educational institutions in multiple countries. The messages were purportedly signed by an entity identifying as the leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan. Despite the widespread evacuations, regional police services determined there was no credible threat to public safety, and Italian officials expect the total number of affected locations to grow.
Key points
Police agencies across the impacted jurisdictions have officially classified the coordina…: Police agencies across the impacted jurisdictions have officially classified the coordinated wave of messages as hoaxes.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that threatening emails reached over 300…: The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that threatening emails reached over 300 schools within its jurisdiction.
Authorities determined that the disruptive messages were primarily intended to intimidate…: Authorities determined that the disruptive messages were primarily intended to intimidate the public rather than execute attacks.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Hundreds of schools across Europe were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving bomb threats, police forces say, in the latest wave of efforts to intimidate populations.
Italy's education minister Giuseppe Valditara told Italian TV that threats were presumed to be hoaxes, and that the number of schools affected was expected to rise.
The emailed threats, sent just before 10 a.m. local time to more than 300 schools, were signed "Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan," according to a copy of the message seen by Reuters.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said threatening emails to over 300 schools were treated as a hoax, while Police Scotland similarly said there was nothing to suggest the threats posed any credible risk to the public.
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