A rabbi was kicked in the leg and subjected to antisemitic abuse in Vienna by a knife-wielding assailant who snatched his kippah, according to Austrian police and the Associated Press.

Local police said he did not suffer any injuries during the attack.

In a statement on Friday, local police said the country’s counter-terrorism agency had taken over the investigation. 

The suspect is a woman aged around 50 who was wearing a grey coat during the incident on Thursday, according to the statement. Police attended but were unable to trace the suspect. 

Interior minister Karl Nehammer said the incident was an attack on “Jewish life in Vienna”. 

“In addition to the increased protection of synagogues that has already been ordered, all measures are being taken to quickly clear up this apparently antisemitic attack.

“There is no tolerance for antisemitism, no matter whether it’s politically or religiously motivated,” he said in German.

The European Jewish Congress, an elected representative body of European Jewry, condemned the “despicable attack” and said it stood in solidarity with the city’s Jewish community.