Taliban insurgents have torched three schools in a restive southern province of Afghanistan, the latest attacks in the militants’ campaign against the US-backed government and its efforts to promote education. The three newly built schools, where 1,000 boys and girls studied, were gutted on Friday night in different parts of Nawa district in Helmand province, said provincial education chief Mohammad Qasim. “I can say that the Taliban were behind this,” said Qasim on Saturday, adding that no one was hurt in the attacks. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.