40 people taken ill after wedding party poisoned in Faryab

Forty people including women and children have been taken ill after serving the dinner and being deliberately poisoned at a wedding in Faryab province, a senior official said.

Abdul Qadir Qaderi, chief district of Pashtonkot district of Faryab province said that the incident took place Thursday night.

Qaderi further added that initial enquiries indicated that the poisoning was deliberate, and could have been motivated by “personal enmity”, citing an investigation has been launched.

Officials of Maimana Hospital Emergency Service Unit declared that the victims, including 12 women and 12 children have been hospitalized and are in a stable condition.

This comes as that the armed Taliban groups have also began an operation to poison Afghan student girls.

More than 300 girls have been poisoned by toxic fumes at two schools in Herat province in a suspected attack by Taliban militants.

Police are linking three incidents in the same province this week where pupils, aged nine to 18, were taken to hospital.

During Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, girls and women were banned from education and the workplace.

At the other site, Afghan security forces and the armed opposition groups are claiming to put heavy causalities on each others.

Gen. Shah Kohbandi, commander of first brigade corpse said that at least 6 Taliban militants were killed and four others were wounded during a conflict with Afghan forces in Khawja Musa area of Faryab.

Kohbandi further added that when the conflicts occurred that the Afghan security forces were on their way to Ghar Tapa, Takhta Bazaar and Khawja Musa district and in while returning faced Taliban.

He noted that Public police tank was damaged by bomb blast and two national army soldiers were injured.

A security source on condition of anonymity said that Khawja Musa district is fully under control of Taliban and people and security forces entrenched in the highlands of the area.

In addition, officials of Faryab province said that an armed opposition and four others were killed in Maimana- Khawja Sabz Posh highway by security forces.

Muhammad Akbar Batash, police commander of Khawja Sabz Posh district told to media outlets that an Afghan student and four other civilians were killed during the conflicts.