Some 130 girls and three female teachers fell ill on Wednesday after "poisonous gas" was released in their school in northern Afghanistan, an official said. The incident took place in a girl's high school in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province. It was the third such incident within a month.
"The nearby hospitals and other health centers have received 130 students and three teachers who fainted due to inhaling some mysterious poisonous gas," Hafizullah Safi, head of the provincial public health department, told dpa. "Fifty students were treated. The rest were hospitalised," Safi said, adding they have sent blood sample to Kabul for further tests.
Police confirmed the incident and blamed Taliban insurgents for the attack. "Taliban intend to terrorize students mentally and prevent them from acquiring an education," police spokesman Khalilullah Asir said. Over the weekend, the Afghan intelligence agency accused the Taliban of increasing their attacks on Afghan, especially girl's schools. "By poisoning girls they want to create fear. They try to make families not send their children to school," National Directorate of Security spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said.
The Taliban were not available for comment. In the past, they have denied involvement in such attacks against schools, saying they are not against education. Girls were not allowed to go to schools during the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule. Earlier this month, 150 girls were poisoned in a similar incident in a school in the same province. Last week, over 200 school boys were mysteriously poisoned in the eastern Khost province.
In April, students at a girls' school in northern Badakshan province fell ill after their drinking water was apparently poisoned by extremists opposed to female education. Afghan Education Minister Farooq Wardak earlier this month said at least 550 schools remain closed due to insecurity, affecting more than 300,000 students in 11 provinces where the insurgency is still strong.
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