Dozens of Afghan schoolgirls sickened by unknown gas, most discharged from hospital

Afghan schoolgirls sickened by unknown gas

KABUL, Afghanistan — Dozens of students and teachers at a girls’ school in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul were sickened Wednesday by an unknown gas that spread through classrooms, education officials said.

The incident was similar to earlier cases where scores of girls have been treated for dizziness, headaches and nausea following suspected poisoning attacks. Those have raised fears that the Taliban and other Islamic fundamentalists who oppose female education are using a new method to scare them away from classes.

In all, 60 students and teachers from the Totia Girls School were treated, with all but a handful discharged by late afternoon, said Education Ministry spokesman Mohammad Asif Nang.

Nang said the incident was being investigated.