Hoax bomb alerts sent to schools in Italy, UK and Ireland

Schools in Italy, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland received bomb warnings on Wednesday, causing the evacuation of around 6,300 educational institutions. The threats, which originated abroad, were later deemed hoaxes and did not disrupt classes. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni assured the public that the bomb alerts posed no danger, and police and other public bodies were monitoring the situation.

Many parents were alarmed by the situation, as evidenced by Nensi Bego, a parent of a child at Mazzini middle school in Rome, who said her daughter Dafne cried when she learned about the threats. A copy of the email warning, signed by a purported leader named Mikhail Andropov from the Vilayat of Misoginistan, included a threat to target Meloni.

Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto stated that the threats were part of a strategy to spread fear and create anxiety, emphasizing that hoaxes can have serious consequences for school communities.