Thousands of schools across Europe received apparently hoax bomb threats Wednesday, prompting mass evacuations in Italy. The threatening messages were sent to at least 6,300 schools in Italy alone, as well as hundreds in Ireland and across the U.K.
There have been no reports so far of explosives or suspicious devices found at any of the schools, but investigations were continuing. The threats came less than a week after more than 20 European commercial flights got fake bomb threats, forcing many to divert.
While authorities have not assigned any blame yet for the bomb hoaxes, they are fueling growing concern about the impact of wider hybrid warfare tactics that officials and security experts say Iran and Russia are using to target Europe amid the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Read more…
Source: CBS News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- UK: Second man charged after bomb squad explode ‘suspicious item’
November 9, 2024
A second man has been charged after a “suspicious item” was discovered in a flat and destroyed by the Royal Navy bomb squad.Police officers discovered the item while searching a flat in Clydebank’s Overtoun Court on Monday, October 28, in connection with an ongoing investigation into a man’s unexplained death nearby. Several homes in the area ...
- Netherlands: Police seize 35 tons of fireworks destined for illegal Dutch market
November 8, 2024
Officers of the fireworks team of the Zuid-Holland Zuid district of the Rotterdam Unit arrested two men for trafficking in illegal fireworks after an investigation on Thursday 7 November. It concerns two men aged 57 and 37 from Vuren and Herwijnen. This happened in Herwijnen, Gelderland, after a search of a business premises and a garage ...
- Israel tightens travel advice for Amsterdam, bans soldiers from coming to Netherlands
November 8, 2024
The Israeli government has tightened its travel advice for Amsterdam, advising citizens to return to Israel and not to show Israeli or Jewish symbols when going out on the street. The Israeli army has also banned soldiers from traveling to the Netherlands. According to the Times of Israel, the tightened travel advice urges Israelis in Amsterdam ...
- UK: WW2 bomb found on building site in East Tilbury safely detonated
November 8, 2024
Specialists have successful carried out a controlled explosion of a World War Two bomb discovered on a construction site. The buried device was uncovered near Station Road in East Tilbury, Essex at 11:30 GMT on Tuesday before the detonation took place on Friday. Ch Supt Scott Egerton said: “It was decided detonation of the device at ...
- The European Union and Cambodia standing together for a mine-free future
November 7, 2024
Cambodia is at peace today, but for 40,000 Cambodian amputees, the past wars are still with them every day, visible on their bodies. Mobility, dignity, family and economic integration are all affected by the scourge of mines. The EU and its Member States are major donors for mine action assistance worldwide, supporting universalisation, survey and clearance ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 258
November 7, 2024
A new expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency crossed the frontline this week to travel to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), replacing colleagues who have been monitoring nuclear safety and security at the site over the past several weeks as part of the IAEA’s non-stop efforts to help prevent a radiological accident ...
- Ukraine’s Modified Sport Plane Drone Strikes Russian Naval Base 700 Miles from Front Lines
November 6, 2024
A modified Aeroprakt A-22 sport plane, converted into a long-range drone and carrying explosives, struck Russian naval vessels at a Caspian Fleet base in Kaspiysk, Dagestan – approximately 700 miles from Ukraine‘s frontlines, according to a report from Anton Gerashchenko, former advisor to Ukraine’s interior ministry. The A-22 drone program showcases Ukraine’s innovative approach to developing ...
- Northern Ireland: Viable pipe bomb thrown through elderly couple’s window in Derry
November 6, 2024
In a statement Detective Sergeant Mark Gingell said: “Police received a report at around 7.30 pm that an object had been thrown at a house in the area. “Officers attended and observed the remnants of what they believed to have been a pipe bomb device and alerted Army Technical Officers. “The object, which has been declared ...
- UK: Explosive found in car in Bootle safely detonated
November 5, 2024
A suspected grenade found in the boot of a car has been detonated by an Army explosives team. Merseyside Police called in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit after the discovery on Strand Road in Bootle at about 13:10 GMT on Monday. A cordon had been put in place and several homes and businesses were evacuated as ...
- Northern Ireland: Residents evacuated from homes in Co Tyrone over ‘suspicious object’
November 5, 2024
Residents have been evacuated from their homes in Co Tyrone over the discovery of a suspicious object, described by an MLA as “an improvsied explosive device.” The incident in the Maplebrook Court area of Coalisland was reported on Tuesday afternoon. Motorists have been advised to avoid the area and seek other main routes for their journey. ...
- UK: Two new cases of Clade lb mpox detected
November 5, 2024
Two new cases of a strain of mpox that is thought to be more transmissable have been detected in the UK, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of the Clade lb mpox strain in the country to three. The new cases are household contacts of the first ...
- Greece: Police arrest third suspect over bombing as minister warns of new generation of extremists
November 4, 2024
Greek police arrested a third suspect Monday in connection with an explosion in central Athens last week that authorities have blamed on an alleged aspiring domestic extremist group. The 30-year-old woman surrendered to Greek authorities Monday at Athens International Airport after being located in Switzerland, authorities said. The Oct. 31 blast gutted a third-floor apartment in ...
- German foreign minister announces €200 million in winter aid for Ukraine
November 4, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced the allocation of €200 million in additional winter aid to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Monday, 4 November. The €200 million will be used to increase the German Foreign Office’s emergency humanitarian aid to heat homes near the front line and to “provide Ukrainians with basic necessities such ...
- Ukraine receives 500 pickup trucks and mine detection vehicles from Lithuania
November 4, 2024
Ukraine received 230 pickup trucks and 240 mine detection vehicles from the Lithuanian-led demining coalition. Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umierov on Telegram. The transfer of demining equipment took place during the visit of Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas to Kyiv. The demining coalition encompasses elements of both humanitarian mine clearance in Ukraine’s liberated territories and combat ...
- Ukraine: Veterans and people with disabilities to be involved in demining
November 2, 2024
The Ministry of Defense is implementing a program to engage veterans and people with disabilities in demining. Veterans and people with disabilities will be involved in the cleanup and demining of territories. One of the main goals of mine action in the Ministry of Defense is equal access to work in this area, including increasing the ...