Afghanistan

On Tuesday 160 schoolgirls and teachers were admitted to a hospital after a suspected poisoning at a school in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province -- the third such large-scale attack against female students this year.

The female students, ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old, had been poisoned in their classrooms by a contaminated spray that caused the girls to suffer from vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. The attack occurred at the Ashan Dara Girls School in Talokhan.

A similar attack occurred last week in which over 120 teachers and students were admitted to a local hospital. more >>

Around 150 Afghan high school aged girls were poisoned on Tuesday in northern Afghanistan in what many suspect is an attack on females seeking education.

The schoolgirls were poisoned by contaminated water in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province, causing them to suffer from severe headaches and vomiting.

Some of the affected students remain in critical condition over the poisoning. more >>

A new report released by Human Rights Watch this week argues that despite the ousting of the Taliban, women and girls in Afghanistan continue to live in precarious conditions with hundreds of females spending years behind bars for committing "moral crimes," which sometimes include being victims of rape.

The report, "I Had to Run Away: Women and Girls Imprisoned for 'Moral Crimes' In Afghanistan," was published by Human Rights Watch on Wednesday and details the circumstances of women and girls in Afghanistan's female detention centers.

The report outlines the "crimes" that send women and girls into detention centers, often for years at a time, which include fleeing a situation of domestic violence or being the victim of rape. more >>

A U.S. military investigation shows that five service members may have been responsible for the accidental burning of Qurans at a NATO base in Afghanistan last week which led to the killing of six American troops and over 30 Afghan demonstrators.

The probe launched by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John R. Allen, is still underway, but five soldiers were involved in the incident, NBC News reported Friday.

It appears that the soldiers will not face criminal charges, anonymous military officials were quoted as saying. The troops may face non-judicial punishment, which could be as simple as a reprimand. more >>

Two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan were killed Thursday amid days of violent protests sparked by a Quran burning incident at a joint military base. However, it was unclear if the new deaths were related to the protests. 

Two Afghan soldiers and a literary instructor gunned down the U.S. soldiers at a joint base in Afghanistan's tumultuous southeastern province of Kandahar. According to the Pentagon, a motive for the killings was not immediately clear.

The two Afghan soldiers were killed by the International Security Assistance Force, but it remains unclear whether the literary instructor managed to escape. more >>

Two American officers were shot dead inside Afghanistan's heavily guarded interior ministry Saturday, the fifth day of violent protests over the accidental burning of Qurans at a NATO base that have resulted in dozens of demonstrators killed.

A member of the Afghan security forces Saturday fired on the two U.S. officers at close range inside a protected command center at the Interior Ministry in Kabul, Reuters reported.

The victims were advisers to the ministry and among several officers who are in Afghanistan to train and equip that country's security forces ahead of the expected withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2014. Their names had not been released until Saturday. more >>