Afghan girls traumatized after poisoning |
Their classrooms might
have been sprayed with a toxic material before the girls entered, police
spokesman Khalilullah Aseer said. He blamed the Taliban.
The incident, the second in a week's time, was reported at the Aahan Dara Girls School in Taluqan, the provincial capital.
The girls, ages 10 to 20,
complained of headaches, dizziness and vomiting before being taken to
the hospital, said Hafizullah Safi, director of the provincial health
department.
More than half of them
were discharged within a few hours of receiving treatment, Safi said.
The health department collected blood samples and sent them to Kabul for
testing.
Saving Aesha: Life after Taliban attack
Last week, more than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted after a similar suspected poisoning.
"The Afghan people know
that the terrorists and the Taliban are doing these things to threaten
girls and stop them going to school," Aseer said last week. "That's
something we and the people believe. Now we are implementing democracy
in Afghanistan and we want girls to be educated, but the government's
enemies don't want this."
But earlier this week,
the Taliban denied responsibility, instead blaming U.S. and NATO forces
for the poisonings in an attempt to "defame" the insurgent group.
Taliban tightens grip in school
There have been several instances of girls being poisoned in schools in recent years.
In April, also in Takhar
province, more than 170 women and girls were hospitalized after
drinking apparently poisoned well water at a school. Local health
officials blamed the acts on extremists opposed to women's education.
While nearly all the
incidents involve girls, earlier this month, nearly 400 boys at a school
in Khost province fell ill after drinking water from a well that a
health official said may have been poisoned.
The Taliban recently
demanded the closure of schools in two eastern provinces. In Ghazni, the
school closure was in retaliation for the government's ban on
motorbikes often used by insurgents. People in Wardak said the Taliban
has been a little more lenient and has allowed schools to open late
after making changes to the curriculum.
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