Afghanistan: Gas attack targets third girls' school

Another heinous gas attack in Afghanistan on young school girls.  While there's a lot of tap dancing around weather or not the Taliban is responsible, the one certainty is that once again it's Muslims who have tried to murder girls using a gas.


FROM ADNKRONOS.COM:

Afghanistan: Gas attack targets third girls' school

Kunduz, 11 May (AKI) - At least 30 schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, the third such attack on a girls' school in the city in less than a month, officials said. It is unclear who was behind the attacks.

"A masked man, dressed in black, came into the classroom and threw a small box at us. When we saw the box, we tried to run away, but I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was in hospital," said 13-year-old Nafeesa, quoted by Pajhwork Afghan News.

The girls who fell ill on Tuesday were taken to a local hospital. Some of them were unconscious and in a critical condition, head of the city hospital, Homayoon Khamosh, told Pajhwok.

He said the cause of their sickness was a poisonous gas, similar to the one that had been used at Khodeja-ul-Kubra and Fatima-tu-Zahara girls' schools in Kunduz last month.

Pajhwok quoted provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Razaq Yaqubi blaming the attacks on reactionaries who opposed education for girls.

But Yaqubi said he did not think the Taliban was involved and no group has claimed responsibility.

The Taliban banned education for girls during their five-year rule of Afghanistan during the 1990s.

In many rural areas, there are still threats against female teachers and families who allow their daughters to attend school.

Blood tests taken from girls affected by the previous attacks have not yet yielded any results.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has strongly condemned the incidents.

Last week, 22 schoolgirls and three teachers fell ill after their school was targeted.

In most cases the girls reported smelling something sweet, then fainting, dizziness and vomiting.

Kunduz is the capital of surrounding Kunduz province.