TALIQAN, Afghanistan (May 23, 2012)—About 120 Afghan schoolgirls and three teachers were overcome by poisonous fumes Wednesday in a suspected attack on a girls’ school in Takhar province, Afghanistan.

The attack was the second in two months by conservative radicals in the northern part of the country.

The girls and their teachers were receiving treatment at a hospital Wednesday.

Police said radicals who oppose the education of women and girls used an unidentified toxic powder to contaminate the air in school classrooms, leaving scores of students unconscious.

Insurgents have closed down 550 schools in 11 provinces where the Taliban have strong support, according to the country’s ministry of education.

Last month, 150 schoolgirls were poisoned in Takhar province after they drank contaminated water.