Italy Evacuates 300 Schools After Hoax Bomb Threats As Similar Alerts Hit Ireland, Scotland

More than 300 schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving hoax bomb threats, while similar emails targeting schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were also dismissed as false alarms. The incidents have raised concerns over a wider campaign of disruption targeting several European countries.

The latest alerts come amid a series of threats and cyberattacks targeting supermarkets, blood banks, air traffic services and television broadcasters across Europe.

In Italy, the bomb threats prompted parents to rush to schools to collect their children, causing panic and disruption. Several schools moved students to secure locations as a precaution.

Nensi Bego, whose daughter attends Mazzini Middle School in Rome, said the incident left her child frightened.

"My daughter Dafne started crying because the kids did not understand what was happening, and she was still shaken when I picked her up," Bego told Reuters, adding that the hoax had disrupted lessons and families' daily routines.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the threats did not pose any danger and that police and other public authorities were monitoring the situation.

A copy of an email received by Italian schools, reviewed by Reuters, was signed by "Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan". The same purported sender had also claimed responsibility for bomb threat emails sent to newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria on Friday.

Russia and Iran have emerged as countries facing suspicions over the wider campaign, although neither has been established as responsible for the school threats. Some European officials suspect Russia may be behind efforts to disrupt daily life in countries supporting Ukraine. Moscow has denied the allegations, calling them a Western smear campaign.

France also summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday over an alleged cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets. Tehran rejected the accusations as "baseless and hostile".

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the threats as part of a strategy to spread fear and anxiety, while acknowledging that attention-seekers could also be responsible.

Antonello Giannelli, head of the Italian School Principals Association, warned that even hoax threats have serious consequences for students, parents and teachers, disrupting normal educational activities and alarming entire school communities.