A fresh spate of suspected poisoning attacks on schoolgirls in Iran was reported Wednesday as officials sought to play down the incidents that have sparked outrage and led to dozens of hospitalizations since November.
Scores of schools were targeted in several cities in Iran. Some 343 students were taken to hospital in the western city of Ardabil where 11 schools reported suspected poison attacks, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported citing a local official.
Seven schoolgirls were admitted after falling sick in Esfahan, Mehr said, adding that 12 others had fallen sick in the city of Qom and more cases had been reported in the western city of Kermanshah.
