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Updated: Jan 11, 2016 15:28 IST

Six Pakistani nationals and a Syrian were attacked in Cologne following tensions over New Year’s Eve sex assaults in the city that have been blamed largely on foreigners, police said.

Six Pakistani citizens were attacked on Sunday by a group of around 20 people and two of them were briefly admitted to a hospital, police said. Also on Sunday evening, a Syrian man was attacked by five people. He was injured but didn’t need treatment.

Police said they received tips on Sunday afternoon about groups of people who would “seek provocation,” but were still investigating whether the subsequent attacks were racially motivated and whether there was any link to the New Year’s assaults.

Those assaults have stoked tensions over Germany’s open-door policy in the refugee crisis and prompted politicians to call for tougher laws against migrants who commit crimes.

Authorities and witnesses said the New Year’s Eve attackers were among a group of about 1,000 people described as predominantly Arab or North African who gathered at Cologne’s central train station. Some broke off into small groups and groped and robbed women, police said.

Cologne police say 516 criminal complaints have now been filed with them in connection to the New Year’s attacks. About 40% involve allegations of sexual offenses.

In a separate incident, police said two migrants - a Syrian and an Afghan - were arrested in northern Germany on suspicion of attacking and robbing a French man who was wearing a Jewish skullcap.

Police said the 49-year-old was in a waiting room at Puttgarden ferry port Saturday when the two men, saying “Jew” in Arabic, shoved him to the floor. Police said they stole a bag containing cash, a bank card, a train ticket and a cellphone.

The two men had been denied entry to Denmark the previous day because they lacked the correct papers and were waiting for a train to a refugee centre