BERLIN

A Muslim woman with a headscarf was brutally beaten in a subway station by a man who shouted racist slurs, Berlin police said on Friday.

The 39-year old Muslim woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after the attack in Berlin's Spandau district, the police said in a statement.

Violently attacking the woman with his bike, the suspect punched her several times and pulled off her headscarf, while hurling xenophobic slurs at her, according to the police.

The State Criminal Police Office opened an investigation and is questioning witnesses to identify the suspect.