Scores of schoolgirls in the Afghan province of Kunduz have fallen ill in what authorities allege is mass poisoning by insurgents

On April 25, 2010 thirteen girls were taken ill. This follows two separate incidents when about 70 girls complained of dizziness and nausea. The girls said they noticed a strange smell in class before the onset of their symptoms, but health officials said the gas remains unidentified. The incidents all involved different schools. In May 2009, Afghan authorities launched an investigation after about 90 schoolgirls fell ill in Kapisa province. In recent years there has been an increase in attacks on schoolgirls in Afghanistan, mainly in the south and east of the country where several acid attacks on schoolgirls have been reported. Girls were banned from attending school during the rule of the Taliban, who were overthrown in the American-led invasion of 2001.