'Terrorists' poisoned schoolgirls

Direct attacks on schoolgirls in Afghanistan are rare

The Afghan president has blamed "terrorist elements" for the poisoning of three schoolgirls in the eastern province of Khost.

Hamid Karzai said they were poisoned by people opposed to girls attending school, and described the perpetrators as inhuman.

"I will not call anyone an Afghan or a Muslim who poisons an eight-year-old... because she is school-going," he added.

He said the girls were in critical condition.

However, a local official told AP news agency that they had recovered.

The official said the incident happened five or six days ago outside the city of Khost's only girls' school.

"A woman gave poisoned fruit powder to the girls and told them to mix it with water and drink it," he said.

"After a couple of minutes, they were unconscious."

Reports say a woman has been arrested in connection with the attack.

Correspondents say extremists have mounted arson attacks on girls' schools in the past, but direct attacks on students are rare.