Afghan Girls Sick in 'Gas Attack'

Up to 45 schoolgirls have been taken to hospital after a suspected gas attack at their high school in Ghazni, a province in eastern Afghanistan.

Police said some of the teenage girls from the Jahan Maleka high school had fallen unconscious after smelling poison gas on Saturday.

"Some of the enemies sprayed poison gas from outside into the high school compound," Ghani Khan, a Ghazni police official, said.

The girls were vomiting and could not stand on their feet when they arrived at the hospital, according to hospital staff, but they were in stable condition after treatment.

"Most of the patients we have received are not in critical condition," Ibrahim Monib, a doctor at the hospital, said.

There have been similar cases of illnesses at girls' schools around Afghanistan.

In separate incidents in Kunduz province in April and May, at least 80 school girls reported symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and shivering after suspected poisoning.

Some suspect groups which oppose education for girls are spraying schools with poison gas.

During Taliban rule, from 1996-2001, girls were banned from attending school.

In parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Taliban strongholds, schools for girls still remain closed.