At least 300 schools across Italy were affected by a wave of bomb threats on Wednesday, November 11, prompting emergency evacuations and disrupting classes as authorities investigated what appeared to be a coordinated campaign of threatening emails.
Italian Education and Merit Minister Giuseppe Valditara confirmed the figure during an interview with Italian television channel La7, warning that the number of affected schools could increase as further reports emerged.
The threats were delivered through identical emails sent to educational institutions across the country. School administrations responded by activating emergency security procedures, evacuating students and staff, and moving them to designated safe areas.
In a message to parents, one school in Rome confirmed that all students had been moved to a safe location and remained under the supervision of teaching staff.
According to reports, the threatening email was signed by an individual identifying himself as “Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan.” The message contained threats against Italian schools and reportedly claimed that explosive devices had been planted inside school buildings.
Italian police have launched an investigation, while security personnel are carrying out inspections of the affected institutions to establish whether any genuine threat exists.
Minister Valditara indicated that the scale and nature of the alerts suggested the threats lacked credibility, with authorities treating the incident as a likely hoax. However, precautionary evacuations and security checks continued as a safety measure.
The incident comes amid a broader wave of suspicious bomb alerts targeting European infrastructure and public services. In recent days, similar threats have affected flights, airports and other facilities across several European countries, raising concerns about possible coordinated attempts to spread panic and disrupt essential services.
Italian authorities are investigating whether the school threats are connected to the wider pattern of incidents. The investigation is also expected to examine the origin of the emails and the identity of those responsible.
Related: UK Plans Sharia-Compliant Student Finance
The latest incident has raised fresh concerns about school security and the vulnerability of educational institutions to coordinated cyber-enabled threats, with thousands of students and school employees affected by the disruption.
