More than 300 girls have been poisoned by toxic fumes at two schools in Afghanistan in a suspected attack by Taliban militants.

Police are linking three incidents in the same province this week where pupils, aged nine to 18, were taken to hospital.

On Monday, more than 140 girls fell ill at one school after breathing in toxic gas in what police suspect was a deliberate act.

Afghan girls receive medical treatment at hospital after being admitted for symptoms of poisoning in Herat

Poisoned: Police are linking three incidents this week where pupils, aged nine to 18, were taken to hospital

Around 70 more girls succumbed to fumes two days later at the same school.

Yesterday, another 115 schools from a different school were hospitalised in similar circumstances.

The district governor of Enjil, where the poisoning took place, blamed it on enemies of the government who opposed education for children.

Aseeluddin Jami, the deputy governor of Herat province, also believed the incidents were deliberate it was reported by CNN.

Police promised to track down those responsible.

Hazara tribe schoolgirls receive treatment for suspected poisoning at a hospital in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. More than 300 girls have fallen in ill in three separate incidents this week

Elements of Afghanistan's ultra-conservative society oppose education for girls and schools and pupils have regularly come under attack.

During Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, girls and women were banned from education and the workplace.

The Islamist group was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition and is now waging an increasingly violent insurgency against the foreign-backed government.

The Taliban were blamed for a similar spate of poisonings six years ago which hospitalised more than 100 schoolgirls north-eastern Afghanistan.