Several Irish media outlets reported on Friday that they had received bomb threats, following the series of alerts on aircraft across Europe this week. The bomb threats affected more than a dozen flights today.
Authorities are working intensively to identify the source of the threats. Some of the messages were sent via email and were signed “fighters of the Male State” (Male State), a name associated with a far-right movement in Russia, although the French News Agency has not confirmed any connection to these messages.
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So far, no explosives have been found in any of the incidents.
Media Targets
On Friday, a new type of target emerged, as staff at various Irish media organizations were evacuated from their workplaces after bomb threats were sent via email to editorial teams, according to reports.
Police were deployed to the headquarters of Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, in Dublin.
In addition, staff were evacuated from the offices of the “Irish Independent” newspaper, the “Newstalk” and “Today FM” radio stations, and the “Virgin Media” television network, according to the same reports.
“We do not yet know whether a single individual is behind this action or whether it is some form of coordinated effort,” Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Simon Harris, told Cork 96FM radio station.
He described the situation as “serious and ongoing.”
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“I want to assure the citizens of this country that the matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness by the Garda (Garda), the security forces, and our cybersecurity experts,” he assured.
Meanwhile, according to authorities, new bomb threats targeted several flights on Friday to and from Lisbon, Rome, Prague, and Sofia.
A Ryanair flight, scheduled to depart from Lisbon for Rome, was the target of a threat just as the aircraft, which was about to operate the route, was still approaching the Portuguese capital, coming from Italy.
In addition, at least 11 flights were targeted in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
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In Ireland, Newstalk host Claire Byrne, stated after returning to the air on Friday that the media outlet’s staff had been ordered to evacuate the building; she later added, “we were told we could return and that the warning was a false alarm.”
Ireland is set to host two days of high-level European Union meetings in Dublin next week.
The threat comes in the wake of incidents that took place on Thursday, during which nearly 30 passenger flights across Europe were targeted, including flights bound for London, Madrid, and Copenhagen.
Many of the threats against aircraft involved low-cost airlines.
The Portuguese police stated in a press release that, following the threat against a Ryanair flight on Friday, “the Special Police Unit (UEP) conducted a security check on the aircraft, without detecting any explosive device or suspicious object.”
In the Czech Republic, both the airport and the police declined to provide details regarding the affected flights.
Prague Airport spokesperson Jiri Hannich told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the airport is operating normally.
Police had already inspected four aircraft on Thursday following threats.
Some previous messages, which turned out to be false alarms and were brought to AFP’s attention, contained misogynistic messages.
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“We, the fighters of the ‘Male State,’ will leave our mark on history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red,” read a message sent to multiple email addresses at Sofia Airport.
Birmingham Airport, in central England, confirmed that it received a similar message from a group calling itself “Male State.”
The Russian group “Male State” was designated an “extremist” organization by the country’s courts in 2021.
However, the group subsequently supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to experts, it remains unclear whether there is any connection to the Russian authorities.
Source: KYPE
