Afghan officials are investigating whether three incidents of poisonous gases being released at girls schools in the country are part of a deliberate, co-ordinated attack.

On Monday girls at a school in Kapisa province, north of Kabul, became ill with headaches, vomiting and dizziness after ‘strong fumes’ took over the school. Two other girls schools in a nearby town experienced similar incidents in April.

Authorities have sent blood samples to an American airbase to be tested, and advised that none of the girls are in serious danger. It is unknown what caused the fumes, but it is thought the Taleban may be behind the attacks. Under Taleban rule, girls were forbidden from attending school; there have been a number of attacks on schoolgirls in Afghanistan over the past year, a high incidence of which took place in the east and south of the country, where the Taleban are gaining strength.

Source: BBC News 12 May 2009