German police arrest two suspects after violence in Cologne

People walk in front of the main railway station in Cologne, Germany January 7, 2016, near the city's cathedral. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - German police have arrested two suspects after a series of assaults on women during New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne, a police spokeswoman said on Friday. The two are males aged 16 and 23 and have "North African roots," the police spokeswoman said. She gave no further details on their backgrounds. Some 121 women are reported to have been robbed, threatened or sexually molested in Cologne by gangs of mostly drunk men while out celebrating. A interior ministry spokesman said earlier on Friday that among 31 people who were questioned by police that night, 18 were seeking asylum in Germany. (Reporting by Matthias Inveradi,; writing by Michael Nienaber,; editing by Larry King)