Taliban Suspected in Schoolgirls' Poisoning

Militants deny involvement after 88 fall ill
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 26, 2010 3:16 AM CDT
Taliban Suspected in Schoolgirls' Poisoning
A medic checks on a schoolgirl in a hospital in Kundu, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Fulad Hamdard)

At least 88 schoolgirls and their teachers have been hospitalized in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan over the last week because of what authorities suspect are poison gas attacks by the Taliban. The militant group, however—which isn't known for its unwillingness to own up to atrocities—firmly denies involvement, the Independent reports.

Some analysts believe Taliban officials are telling the truth and suspect the mass illnesses—which have struck three separate schools in the area—are the work of an unrelated but no less extreme group of Islamists. Many of the girls remain in a local hospital suffering from dizziness and vomiting. The attacks are "terrorist activities against education in the country," a doctor who treated many of the victims told CNN. (More Taliban stories.)

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