Up to 74 girls in Afghanistan have been treated after a suspected poisoning attack at their school, officials said yesterday.

The girls became ill after smelling gas at their school, Bibi Maryam, in Takhar province’s capital, Taluqan.

Many of the children remained in a critical condition in hospital last night.

The Ministry of Public Health is investigating and samples of the victims’ blood have been sent for testing.

Sulaiman Moradi, Takhar governor’s spokesman, said the attack was to try to prevent girls from going to school.

He said ‘enemies of the government and the country’ were to blame for the mass illness.

There have been numerous substantiated cases of mass poisonings of schoolgirls in Afghanistan by ultra-conservatives who oppose giving women access to education.

The girls in Takhar, about 155 miles north of Kabul, were taken to a provincial hospital.

No-one has claimed responsibility for either incident.

Takhar has been a hotbed of militancy and criminal activity since 2009, with groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan active.

The Taliban banned education for women and girls but since they were ousted in 2001, females have returned to schools, especially in the capital city Kabul.

Afghan women have won back basic rights in education, voting and employment since 2001.

However, fears are growing that such gains could be traded away as Western forces prepare to leave and the Afghan government seeks peace talks with the Taliban.