DUSHANBE, October 31, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Russia''s Interior Ministry has acknowledged an attack on a Tajik train last weekend, saying that hooligans were responsible for the incident in Voronezh Oblast, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports.

The ministry''s transportation directorate issued a statement on October 30 saying that attackers had stoned the train, breaking windows in 16 cars.

Officials from the state Tajik Railways Company said they had sent a note to their counterpart, demanding investigations into what they said were two attacks -- one on a train operating on the Moscow-Dushanbe line and another on the Moscow-Khujand route.

An official at the Tajik Embassy in Moscow said the attackers shouted nationalist statements.

The Russian statement denied any nationalist overtones to the attack, saying investigations are under way to locate and identify the hooligans.