Nearly 200 female high school students were poisoned last weekend in the northern province of Sar-i-Pul, Afghanistan. On June 24, 2012, dozens of girls were poisoned at the Sorkhak girls’ high school. According to the director of public health Dr. Mohammed Amin Alteem, 94 girls were taken to the hospital as a result of the poisoning. One day earlier, more than 100 girl students of the Imam Yahya girls’ high school were poisoned as well.
Public health and security officials reported that a poisonous substance or gas had been sprayed in the classrooms. Students developed symptoms such as rashes and dizziness as a result of the poisoning.