MADRID - A Spanish diplomat was found stabbed to death in the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum, it was confirmed Monday by local police and the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.

The 61-year-old victim was identified as the head of the visa section at the Spanish Embassy and was found dead when an employee entered his apartment in the morning to begin work. He had worked in Sudan for the past three years.

Both Sudanese police and the Sudanese Foreign Ministry confirmed that an investigation is under way.

"The police force of Khartoum state and its teams of special criminal investigators have launched a probe in order to find the perpetrator or perpetrators as soon as possible," an official statement said.

"The foreign ministry expresses its condolences to the Spanish embassy, and the family of the departed, for their painful loss," added the statement.