Afghan Schoolgirls Attacked with Poison Gas

Afghan girls attending the Totia Girls School in Kabul were attacked with an unidentified poisonous gas. The spokesman for the education ministry, Asif Nang, said that it was part of a series of attacks against schoolgirls.

"We were in our classroom when I smelt a bad smell. Our teacher walked outside the class to find out whether the smell is just in our classroom or everywhere at school," Farida, a 12-year-old schoolgirl being treated at the local hospital, said.

"When she found out that the smell is everywhere at school she informed the principal of the school and then took us out of the classroom."Al Jazeera

No group has claimed responsibility for the poison gas attack, but the Taliban are known to be opposed to education for women. When the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan from 1996- 2001 they banned education for girls.

In recent years the Taliban have been blamed for setting girls' schools on fire, threatening teachers and attacking school girls. In 2008 in Kandahar Province, 15 schoolgirls were attacked by men throwing acid. Some of the girls were blinded, all were scarred.

In those areas under Taliban control, schools for girls remain closed.