Bomb Threats Sent to More than 200 S Cyprus Schools

A police spokesperson confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that the threats had been received, but that no explosives had been found by the police in any of the schools they had searched. They added that searches at schools and investigations are ongoing.

The email address used to send the threats is disposable and belongs to a Russian provider, but police spokeswoman Kyriaki Lambrianidou was quick to clarify that this does not mean the sender is based in Russia.

She added that both international police organisation Interpol and European Union police cooperation network Europol have both been informed, and that “similar threats” have been sent to both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary.

The police also confirmed that a “crisis centre” was set up to deal with the matter, and that they are “in cooperation and communication” with the education ministry.

In the Paphos district, more than 45 schools received threatening emails, with the Theoskepasti special school in the town of Paphos one of the first to receive a threat.

Pupils, teachers, and accompanying staff were evacuated from the school as a precaution, while the police carried out a search of the premises, finding that no bomb had been left there.

The threat was sent in Greek, and read as follows:

“There is a bomb on school grounds. With our swords high, we will make you run. We demand your life because the rule of Allah is our decree. The wind is harsh, whispering in your ear about the death which awaits you. We will sow terror on your shores, just as the brothers did in Sri Lanka, until we arrive at our designated star.

“Our hearts will burn with the light of Islamic law. We will fill the skies with fire and we will pray. The day that the infidels will die. We will conquer every inch of European soil. Whoever doubts, we will kill him. The blood of the children will drink the sand of the desert. Their screams will rise to the sky. Your world will collapse in your hands.

“In the end, only Islam will remain”.

Similarities were quickly drawn with a similar threat sent to schools across Cyprus in May last year, with it having eventually been found that the threats were hoaxes.

Then-police spokesman Christos Andreou had explained at the time that protocols in such instances allow for children to be evacuated from classrooms while the police are notified of the issue.

Following inspections, that threat was assessed to be of “low risk”, and children were returned to their classrooms.

Source: Cyprus Mail