Story highlights Schoolgirls on their way to class say two men on a motorbike threw acid in their faces

"This is the punishment for going to school," the men reportedly told the girls

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) Attackers on a motorbike threw acid in the faces of three teenage girls on their way to school in Afghanistan's western Herat province on Saturday, an official told CNN.

The girls, age 16 to 18, are students at one of the biggest girls' schools in Herat city, the provincial capital, said Aziz-ul-Rahman Sarwary, head of the education department for the province.

All three girls were admitted to Noor hospital in Herat city before their parents took them elsewhere, said hospital head Jamal Abdul Naser Akhundzada.

Two of the girls were in critical condition after the acid was thrown in their faces, he said.

Akhundzada quoted the girls as saying that their assailants were two men on a motorbike.

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