Bomb threats prompt evacuations at schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Serbia

Dozens of schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Serbia received bomb threats on Monday, with reports of some sites being evacuated, although officials said the alerts appear to be hoaxes. It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected.

Northern Ireland police said officers "are investigating the circumstances of electronic threat messages received this morning ... and are treating the matter as a hoax." They added that up to 300 schools received "the same email containing a general threat," and that "some schools across the United Kingdom" also received it.

Northern Ireland's Education Minister Paul Givan told reporters earlier on Monday that the emails appeared to have been sent by Islamist extremists "threatening that real explosive devices were inside those schools." He added that the message included the phrase "Allahu Akbar," and that some schools were closed as a result. Givan condemned "the actions of those who sought to disrupt our education system today, through emails containing threats to our schools."

Northern Ireland's education authorities said in a statement that "the majority of schools remained open."

Scottish police said that "threatening messages" were also sent to "a number of schools across Scotland." They said the incidents "are being treated as hoaxes and officers are investigating." The nature and scale of the messages sent to Scottish schools was not immediately clear.

In Hungary, local media outlets received emails warning of bombs planted in more than 70 schools nationwide, according to police. Several schools were evacuated, but officials confirmed that no bombs were found. Hungarian Interior Minister Gábor Bócsvai said in a Facebook post: "Investigations carried out so far have proven that the threats received this morning were unfounded."

In neighboring Serbia, state broadcaster RTS reported that more than 100 schools also received bomb threats. The nature of the messages sent outside Northern Ireland was not immediately clear.