After hoax bomb threats to flights, bomb threats by email reach newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria

After bomb threats against passenger aircraft across Europe, threats of attack have now reached media outlets in two countries of the continent. On Friday, newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria received bomb threats by email from a person calling himself 'Mikhail Andropov', the Reuters news agency reported.

The threatening emails were sent to Bulgaria's 'Nova TV' and Ireland's state broadcaster 'RTE'. The messages carried the heading 'A message to the West'.

The sender claimed responsibility for the series of hoax threats that has disrupted passenger flights across Europe.

In the messages, the threats were presented as a foretaste of an upcoming series of attacks on Europe's transport system.

The British broadcaster 'Sky' also said it had received a security threat.

Reuters said it could not confirm the identity of the email sender or the origin of the emails. Nor was it possible to establish whether the threats made against several dozen flights since Tuesday came from the same source. No explosive device was found, and all aircraft landed safely. One of the aircraft affected was an Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome, which was seen at the Evreux military air base in France.

Earlier, on Thursday, some threatening emails arrived at Italian airlines and airports. The emails claimed they had been sent on behalf of a banned Russian propaganda group, although the claim could not be verified.

Spain's foreign minister said the European continent was possibly facing a form of 'hybrid aggression' and 'psychological warfare'.