Afghan Police Arrest 8 Linked to Poison Attacks Against Schools in Northern Afghanistan
Afghan officials announced the arrest of eight people, including three women, in connection to the series of suspected poison attacks against girls’ schools in northern Sar-i-Pul province, according to a statement provided by the Afghan Ministry of the Interior to ToloNews.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters that insurgents were responsible for the rash of poison attacks and that among those arrested were school students and school staff members. In an interview with Ariana TV, Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) spokesman Lutfullah Mashal maintained that the Taliban, Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) operatives, and Hezb-e-Islami, were responsible for the attacks; and he claimed that a meeting held in Quetta between the Taliban and members of the Haqqani network had led to an agreement among insurgents to focus attacks against Afghan schools, including the burning of school buildings and the poisoning of students.
The arrests, which were announced on July 3, came soon after two additional suspected school poison attacks in northern Afghanistan sickened nearly 300 students.