German state interior minister Ralf Jaeger has said migrants were almost exclusively responsible for the attacks on women in Cologne on New Year's Eve.
More than 100 women reported being threatened, robbed or molested during the city's celebrations.
The minister's comments come amid reports a group of Pakistanis and a Syrian were violently attacked by about 20 unknown assailants on Sunday in the city.
A German state interior minister has said people of foreign descent were responsible for virtually all of the violence on new year's eve in Cologne, adding that this included migrants who arrived in Germany over the past year.
More than 100 women reported being threatened, robbed or molested during news year's eve celebrations in the city.
"Based on testimony from witnesses, the report from the Cologne police and descriptions by the federal police, it looks as if people with a migration background were almost exclusively responsible for the criminal acts," Ralf Jaeger, Interior Minister from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia told a special commission.
"All signs point to these being north Africans and people from the Arab world," he added. "Based on what we know now from the investigation, asylum seekers who arrived in the past year are among the suspects."
The German Chancellor wants increased powers to block foreigners from being granted asylum if they have any sort of criminal record.
Around 400 people gathered in Cologne to demonstrate against violence against women following a wave of assaults on New Year's Eve.
Authorities in Cologne are holding crisis talks on Tuesday after a string of sexual assaults by large gangs of men.