Police evacuate schools in Cyprus following bomb threats
Unknown individuals sent lurid emails on Friday threatening bomb attacks on many Cypriot schools, causing a massive evacuation of students on the island.
The threats, which numerous media sources later publicised, also included pledges to “sever your necks” and “drown you in your blood,” which authorities identified as having an Islamist background.
On Cypriot radio, police spokesman Christos Andreou stated that practically all primary and secondary schools, as well as some kindergartens, had received the warnings.
“We carried out the evacuation calmly. So far, no explosive device has been discovered,” Mr Andreou stated.
According to media reports, many terrified parents pulled their children out of school.
The threats referred to Islamic law, or Sharia, which the author of the message said demanded the punishment of all unbelievers.
According to the police, it was written in poor Greek and appeared to have been translated online. Security authorities were trying to determine where the mail was sent from.
Why Cyprus should suddenly be exposed to Islamist threats initially remained unclear. The small EU island republic is home to many Israeli citizens but also many refugees from the Middle East.
Nicosia maintains good relations with both Israel and the Arab world. At the request of the Cypriot government, aid supplies have been repeatedly sent by ship to the suffering population in the Gaza Strip in recent months
