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Bomb threat forces evacuation of upper house’s reception in Moscow

An anonymous call has been received about a bomb threat targeting 25 buildings in the Russian capital, according to a source

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. A bomb threat prompted the evacuation of the reception of the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, located in downtown Moscow’s Mokhovaya Street on Monday, the press service said.

"We received an anonymous call about an explosive device planted in the building. In line with the security requirements, the staff members were evacuated and checks at the building are underway," the statement said.

Earlier on Monday, a source in the city’s emergencies services told TASS an anonymous call had been received about a bomb threat targeting 25 buildings in the Russian capital, including hospitals, the Moscow Exchange and a mortuary.

The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, received two bomb threats over the past four hours, the source said.

Since September 11, 2017 a wave of phone calls has swept across Russian cities and towns. The anonymous bomb threats targeted more than 4,000 facilities in 215 Russian cities and over 2.6 mln people were evacuated. Emergency services combed through secondary and higher schools, shopping malls, airports, railway stations, hotels and governmental buildings.