Berlin police are investigating a series of acid attacks on women in the past months, they announced on Tuesday.

Late Monday night a cyclist sprayed a 27-year-old woman in Friedrichshain with what the fire brigade suspected was acid. If proven it would be the fifth case of its kind in the past few months.

The fire brigade treated the woman, who then went to hospital with injuries to her face. The unknown cyclist escaped.

Local media reported the fire brigade had to neutralize acid, which had splashed on nearby cars during the attack.

Police released a statement saying the woman was attacked while walking along Jungstrasse. She could only describe the attacker as wearing dark clothes.

Other attacks

In the past months several women reported being sprayed with an unknown liquid in Berlin. In January a cyclist attacked a 27-year-old woman in Prenzlauer Berg. And in December three women were attacked in Prenzlauer Berg, Weissensee and Charlottenburg. All of them had to seek medical treatment.

In one case the perpetrator sprayed the liquid with a water gun from a bicycle, and in another case the liquid was proven to be battery acid, national daily "Die Welt" reported.

Police said they were investigating whether there was a link between the cases.

aw/jm (dpa)