Italy evacuates hundreds of schools after 6,300 get the same emailed bomb threat; schools in Scotland and Ireland hit too

Schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after about 6,300 of them received the same emailed bomb threat, Reuters reports. It is the latest in a string of threats and cyberattacks across Europe that have hit supermarkets, blood banks, air traffic and TV broadcasters.

Italian officials said at least 300 schools were affected, many of them in Rome. Parents rushed to pick up their children. "All students have been taken to a safe area and remain under the supervision of teaching staff," one Rome school told parents. Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland got a similar email from abroad, but it was judged a hoax and classes went on.

A copy of the message seen by Reuters also threatened Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It was signed "Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan," the same name that claimed responsibility for email bomb threats sent last Friday to newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria. Meloni said the alerts posed no real danger and that police were monitoring the situation.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called it a clear strategy "to spread fear and create anxiety." Some European officials suspect Russia is behind the wave of disruption aimed at countries that support Ukraine. Iran is another suspect: France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday after accusing Tehran of a cyberattack that knocked out refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets last week. Russia and Iran both deny involvement.