I found this story interesting both because it took place in Parwan province (just down the road from Bagram AirField where I was) and the strange nature of the story:
Doctors are investigating whether dozens of girls were poisoned at a high school in northern Afghanistan on Monday after 61 girls went to the hospital because of sudden illness, officials said.
Dr. Khalil Farhagga said the 61 students and one teacher from a school in Parwan — one province north of Kabul — complained of irritability, tearing and confusion. Several girls also passed out.
The mass hospitalization comes about two weeks after a similar incident in Parwan, where dozens of girls were hospitalized in late April after being sickened by what Afghan officials said were strong fumes or a possible poison gas cloud.
Two incidents in the same province within a couple of weeks certainly sounds a bit suspicious but reporting in Afghanistan can be unreliable and sourced in rumors. Still, if these acts were nefarious, it could be (as far as I know) the first use of what I assume to be a chemical agent to cause mass casualties in Afghanistan. The fact it’s very close to the biggest American military base in the country should be further cause for concern.
It should also be noted that Kabul is only about an hours drive away.
Could this be an attack directed at girls going to school? A dry run for a more political/military significant target? Or perhaps just a non-sinister event? It’s worth keeping an eye on in any case. Especially given this story which talks of the Taliban using white phosphorous.
The U.S. military declassified documents Monday showing at least 38 instances where militants had used white phosphorus in attacks or where weapons had been found in eastern Afghanistan, where the U.S. primarily operates. The NATO-led force supplied information on six other instances in the country.
As the Armchair Generalist will tell you, white phosphorus is not considered a chemical weapon but its use is likely to heighten fear and generate some additional headlines.
Assuming the events in Parwan are intentional attacks (a big assumption at this point) it’s not clear if these two stories reflect some sort of tactical shift on the part of the Taliban to broaden their arsenal. I couldn’t find any Taliban statements threatening anything different from regular tactics so it remains a mystery.
