MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – As many as 97 girls at two schools in northern Afghanistan have fallen sick after a suspected gas poisoning, the Pajhwok news agency has reported.
A total of 77 girls at a school in Maimana, in Faryab province, and another 20 girls at a school in Behsud, in Sar-e Pol province, fell ill after reportedly smelling gas during the classes.
“When the girls started fainting, the teacher noticed a man running in a school ground,” one of the victims told the agency. Investigators also believe the girls could have fallen ill due to heat and insanitary conditions at schools.
Poisoning attacks at Afghan schools are often staged by the Taliban who are against education for women. The country’s education ministry said some 550 schools and lyceums were recently closed over security concerns.
