Nearly 100 schools were evacuated in the New Delhi region after receiving emails containing a word used by Islamic State
Nearly 100 schools in New Delhi and the surrounding region were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving “bomb threats.” Security has been ramped up in the Indian capital despite police describing the threat as a hoax.
The threats were sent from the email address “sawariim@mail.ru,” which is purportedly from a Russian domain, Indian media reported, citing sources. “Sawariim” is an Arabic word that means ‘clashing of the swords’, and has been used by Islamic State since 2014.
Police are investigating the origin of the emails, according to the Economic Times.
Vinai Kumar Saxena, the lieutenant governor of Delhi, claimed that the origin of the email account used to send the threats had successfully been established. It is suspected that the sender used a virtual private network (VPN) to mask the original IP address.
The Indian Home Ministry described the threat as a “hoax” and urged people not to panic. Police and security agencies are “diligently following established protocols to address the situation,” it said.
Some schools in Delhi received threat e-mails this morning. The mails appear to be hoax and there is no need to panic. @DelhiPolice and security agencies are taking all necessary steps as per protocol.