December 11, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 30, 1428

TEHRAN, Dec 10: A young French tourist has been shot dead by a known criminal in the Iranian city of Isfahan, one of the country’s main tourist draws, the Fars news agency reported on Monday.

“Yesterday (Sunday) a French citizen was shot dead in Isfahan,” said a statement by local police quoted by the news agency.

“The murderer recently killed a member of the security forces and unfortunately had not been arrested,” it added.

An Iranian official, who asked not to be named, identified the victim as Julien Van Waesberghe and said he had died of his wounds after being taken to hospital, Fars reported.

The official said the incident took place around Isfahan bus station while the victim and his unidentified partner were waiting to travel to the city of Yazd to the south.

The French embassy confirmed the police statements and said that Van Waesberghe was 24.

In Tehran, the official IRNA news agency said foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini expressed the government’s regrets.—AFP