Dozens of schools in Bulgaria were closed on Monday and Tuesday following bomb threats, authorities said, citing a possible link to Russia.
"
Investigators favor the track of
hybrid attacks linked to Russia," Interior Minister Ivan Demerdjiev told reporters.
Bulgaria has called
on "intelligence assistance
" from its partners, particularly the United States, to try to identify the perpetrators of the threats, he added.
The Sofia prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had opened an investigation for terrorism.
Over a hundred similar alerts
Schools in the capital and other cities across the country have received almost identical emails in recent days from an organization called Free Misantropic Unabomber Legion.
In a message consulted by AFP, it warns of an imminent explosion of TNT disseminated in schools.
As a precautionary measure, evacuations were ordered, causing panic among parents.
A total of 102 alerts were identified.
This episode comes a few days before new elections in this Balkan country, while most polling stations are located in schools.
The minister, however, wanted to be reassuring, considering that “
the electoral process would not be disturbed
”.