GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — U.S. and German police in Vilseck are investigating an attack, allegedly by U.S. personnel, that left two Germans in the hospital over the weekend.

Hauptkommissar Josef Weidl, of the Auerbach German police, said the attack happened at around 4:45 a.m. Saturday outside the Cheers nightclub, which is the closest bar to Rose Barracks, the U.S. base at Vilseck.

The bar, formerly known as the Independence Club, was the venue for numerous fights involving U.S. soldiers in 2006. It was declared off limits by the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment at the time.

Weidl said the victims, age 23 and 30, claimed they were throwing snowballs outside the nightclub and accidently hit a dark BMW with U.S. plates.

Four or five Americans allegedly got out of the vehicle and attacked the Germans with kicks and punches that left one of the Germans with a concussion and the other with a broken nose, he said.

Both victims were heavily intoxicated at the time, Weidl added.

According to an Auerbach German police press statement issued Monday, one victim was in the Amberg Hospital intensive care unit and the other was treated at Sulzbach-Rosenberg Hospital.

Weidl said military police have a list of soldiers who entered Rose Barracks in the early hours of Saturday morning and that two groups, similar to those described by the victims, arrived immediately after the attack.

In recent weeks, with the return of thousands of 2nd Cav soldiers from Iraq, there has been an increase in crimes such as assault and drunken driving in the Vilseck area, he said.

However, most of the incidents are not serious and the impact of so many soldiers returning to the community has been less than expected, he said.

U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwöhr spokesman Franz Zeilmann said military police are involved in a joint investigation of the incident with the German police. Zeilmann said it has not been determined that Americans were responsible.

Stars and Stripes’ Marcus Klöckner contributed to this report.