Madrid, (IANS) : Police in Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday they have arrested two men for kicking a pregnant woman who was wearing a niqab, a cloth worn by some Muslim women to cover their face.

The attack took place on Monday night in the Ciutat Vella, a district of Barcelona, Xinhua news agency quoted the local police as saying.

The two men first insulted the pregnant woman for wearing the niqab, and when her husband, who was with her, tried to protect her, they pushed him several times, before kicking the woman in the stomach.

A group of passers-by stopped the assault and protected the woman and her two young children until police arrived. The woman was later taken to hospital where tests confirmed that neither she nor her unborn baby had suffered any serious injury.

The two detainees have been confirmed as known members of right-wing groups with previous convictions. They were detained and accused of hate crime, assault and causing injury.