Bomb threats target dozens of Attica schools in suspected hoax

Dozens of schools across Attica received bomb threats via email on Wednesday morning, police say.

The identical emails from an anonymous sender outside Greece alleged that explosives were stored in at least 35 schools in Gerakas, Aigaleo, Ilioupoli, Haidari, and Pallini.

“We will blow you up like our brothers did in Paris,” the message said, referencing past terrorist attacks.

Authorities believe the threats to be a hoax, adding that the apparent aim of the initiators is to cause panic.

Police are conducting on-site inspections while the cybercrime division has launched an investigation to identify the sender.

Disruptive digital attacks, many of which have been traced to Russia-backed groups, have doubled in the European Union in recent months, the EU’s top cybersecurity official said in an interview with AP on Wednesday.

Juhan Lepassaar, head of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), noted that attacks with geopolitical motives have steadily risen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.