Gunmen kill two schoolgirls in Afghanistan

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen riding on a motorbike fired at girls outside a school in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two and wounding six, authorities said.

The attack took place in Logar province, south of the capital, Kabul, at the end of the school day. The attackers fled, they said.

"Those who carried out this cowardly attack are the enemies of the country," Education Minister Hanif Atmar told reporters.

The Afghan government uses the term "enemies of Afghanistan" to describe Taliban guerrillas and their al Qaeda allies.

During their rule, the Taliban barred girls from education and women from most work outside the home.

Ousted from power in 2001, the Taliban have been blamed for burning many schools and killing several teachers. They have also warned people against sending their girls to school.

About 200,000 school-aged children cannot go to school in southern and eastern areas where the Taliban are most active.

Atmar said authorities were worried about more attacks on girls' schools.

Although women and girls have been able to go to school and get jobs since the Taliban were ousted, women still face threats, either from family members or from some factional forces, even in areas where the Taliban have no influence.

This month, two women journalists, one an outspoken critic of some factional commanders, were killed by gunmen.

Last month, the country's lower house of parliament sacked a woman lawmaker, another critic of factional forces, after she said the house was worse than a stable.