Nine Iraqi asylum seekers have been arrested in Austria on suspicion of drugging and gang raping a German tourist on New Year's Day.

Police in Vienna confirmed that the men aged between 21 and 47 were detained and all were either granted asylum in Austria or applying for it.

The nine men are alleged to have taken the woman from Vienna's downtown Schwedenplatz station and then assaulted her in an apartment where two of the suspects lived.

Nine Iraqi asylum seekers have been arrested in Austria on suspicion of drugging and gang raping a German tourist on New Year's Day after taking her from the Schwedenplatz station in Vienna, pictured

The woman was in town visiting a friend but had become separated from her during the New Year's celebrations.

Police say the female victim, who had been drinking, suspects she was drugged as she has no recollection of being taken to the apartment.

Officers are now using DNA evidence and video surveillance to build their case.

All nine of the men deny the accusations.

Prosecutors are now applying to a court to have the men held as they continue their investigation.

Monday was a holiday in Austria and prosecutors' office phones went unanswered.

Austria was one of the main routes through which hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers traveled into Europe last year.

The influx eventually prompted the government to set limits on asylum applications that sparked a series of border closures, shutting down the Balkan route used by many migrants.

The woman was in town visiting a friend but had become separated from her in the station, pictured, during the New Year's celebrations

News of the arrest comes after a rising number of sex attacks by migrant gangs across Europe at the turn of the year.

Police in Germany investigated more than 100 reported cases of assault in Cologne and several other cities around the country.

It then prompted Finland and Sweden to warn of the threat of sex attacks while police in Vienna advised women not to go outside alone.