U.S. Concerned Over Attacks On Afghan Schoolchildren

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Forty-eight Afghan girls fell ill on August 28 in what was thought to be the latest in a string of attacks on girls' schools by hard-liners. (Sayed Jan Sabawoon, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)

WATCH: One such suspected attack came on August 28, when 48 schoolgirls fell ill after a noxious gas filled their school and exits were blocked from the outside.

By RFE/RL

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said in a statement that the United States is "deeply concerned" by the recent poisonings of Afghan schoolchildren in Kabul.

She said that "while details of these attacks are still being verified, Afghan schools, teachers, and students, particularly girls, are regularly targeted by antigovernment elements seeking to destabilize Afghanistan and undermine progress."

Clinton urged the international community to continue to support Afghanistan's government in combating repression and violence against girls seeking an education.

Two schools in the Afghan capital, Kabul, were struck by apparent gas attacks that injured more than 100 schoolgirls, including one that sickened 60 students at a girls school on August 25 and another on August 28 that left 48 young girls in need of medical care.