MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti) - A Tajik national was killed in an apparently racially motivated attack in the north of the Russian capital, a spokesman for the Moscow police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday near the Timiryazevskaya metro station when three unidentified persons attacked the Tajik national, stabbing him to death, the spokesman said.

The Tajik national worked for a large construction company in Moscow. An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway, the spokesman said.

Attacks on foreigners and ethnic minorities are a regular occurrence in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as other Russian cities. According to the Russian non-governmental organization SOVA, at least 68 people died and 262 were injured in racially motivated attacks in the country in the first eight months of 2008.

Russia's Interior Ministry has warned of a rise in crimes against foreigners and migrant workers amid the current economic crisis.