http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/2010612205232352832.html
Sunday, June 13, 2010
01:07 Mecca time, 22:07 GMT
Afghan girls sick in 'gas attack'
Dozens of Afghan girls have fallen ill after suspected poisonous
gas attacks on schools this year [Reuters]
Up to 45 schoolgirls have been taken to hospital after a suspected gas attack
at their high school in Ghazni, a province in eastern Afghanistan.
Police said some of the teenage girls from the Jahan Maleka high school had
fallen unconscious after smelling poison gas on Saturday.
"Some of the enemies sprayed poison gas from outside into the high school
compound," Ghani Khan, a Ghazni police official, said.
The girls were vomiting and could not stand on their feet when they arrived at
the hospital, according to hospital staff, but they were in stable condition
after treatment.
"Most of the patients we have received are not in critical condition," Ibrahim
Monib, a doctor at the hospital, said.
in depth
Afghan girls brave Taliban threats
There have been similar cases of illnesses at girls' schools around Afghanistan.
In separate incidents in Kunduz province in April and May, at least 80 school
girls reported symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and shivering after
suspected poisoning.
Some suspect groups which oppose education for girls are spraying schools with
poison gas.
During Taliban rule, from 1996-2001, girls were banned from attending school.
In parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Taliban
strongholds, schools for girls still remain closed.
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