Bomb Threats in Schools: Italy, UK, and Ireland on Alert

A wave of bomb threats caused the evacuation of more than 300 schools in Italy on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Similar messages were also received by hundreds of schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland. While authorities currently favor the theory of false alarms, investigations have been launched to identify the origin of these emails and determine whether the various incidents are connected.

Italy faced a wave of bomb alerts targeting its schools on Wednesday morning. According to Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, at least 300 schools were affected by threatening messages, leading to their evacuation as a precaution. Italian media report a total of 312 institutions receiving similar emails. In Rome, several school administrations informed families that students had been taken to secure locations under teacher supervision. Law enforcement was mobilized to carry out necessary checks and allow a return to normal when the situation warranted.

In response to the scale of these threats, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened a government meeting during the day. On social media, she stated that the reports seemed more like an operation intended to provoke fear and anxiety than an actual terrorist threat. Giuseppe Valditara also emphasized that the particularly high number of affected institutions made the messages less credible. However, authorities maintained security procedures, considering that each report must be examined before definitively ruling out any danger.

Hundreds of schools also threatened in the United Kingdom

Italian investigations focus notably on the origin of the emails sent to the institutions. According to a government source cited by Reuters, the message was signed by a certain “Mikhail Andropov,” presenting himself as the leader of the “Vilayat of Misoginistan.” This signature alone does not allow identification of the authors or determination of their motivations. Italian police are now trying to trace the senders and establish whether the threats come from the same source. At this stage, no publicly communicated element confirms the presence of explosives in the affected institutions.

The wave of alerts was not limited to Italy. In Northern Ireland, police announced they opened an investigation after threatening emails were sent to more than 300 schools. According to initial information, these messages originated from a source outside the United Kingdom. Scottish schools also reported similar threats. British law enforcement currently considers these incidents as probable false alarms while continuing investigations to identify the senders.

European authorities seek to determine the origin of the threats

In the Republic of Ireland, several institutions also received alarming messages. Irish police indicated they conducted an initial assessment and consider the threats not credible. Unlike Italy, authorities did not recommend a general evacuation of the affected institutions. This difference in response illustrates the choices made by security services based on available information and national procedures. In all cases, investigators must verify whether the messages were sent in a coordinated manner and if they share common technical characteristics.

This series of incidents occurs in a context of heightened vigilance in Europe against so-called “hybrid warfare” threats, which can take the form of cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, or operations intended to disrupt public services. Alerts have already targeted various sectors, including transportation, commerce, and certain sensitive infrastructures. However, no element currently allows attributing the threats received on Wednesday to any state or particular organization. For Italian, British, and Irish authorities, the priority remains identifying those responsible while preventing new messages from causing massive disruptions in schools.