Briton killed at Sri Lanka resort

Police are investigating the attack at the resort in Tangalle

A British man has been killed in an attack at a Sri Lankan resort, local police say.

They named him as Khuram Shaikh. The Foreign Office confirmed a man had died but did not release any other details. Next of kin have been told.

Police said the incident happened early on 25 December at a resort in Tangalle, about 100 miles south of Colombo.

Mr Shaikh and a Russian woman were attacked after reportedly arguing with a man. Four men have been arrested.

Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana told the BBC's Sinhala service that while two of the suspects were thought to have been directly connected to the assault, the third man had been arrested for providing a vehicle for the attackers. All three are Sri Lankan, but police did not name them.

A fourth man - Sampath Chandra Pushpa Vidanapathirana, 24, the chairman of Tangalle village council - was arrested after going to police on 26 December, police said.

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Shaikh had been attacked by a sharp weapon and shot, he added.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the victim's next of kin had been informed, and consular assistance was being provided.

One of his friends told the Press Association that Mr Shaikh, from Manchester, had been on leave from his job as a physical rehabilitation programme manager for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.

"He provided prosthetics for people who have lost limbs," his friend - who asked not to be named - said.

The Russian woman - named as Victoria Alexandrovna, 23, - was being treated in Karapitiya hospital, Galle, at the intensive care unit.

Hoteliers in Tangalle said foreign tourists have been leaving the resort after the assault.