WASHINGTON, April 17: The US government sought to reassure foreigners on Tuesday that the United States remains a prime destination for their studies despite this week's mass murder at a Virginia university.

“The United States is a popular destination, for good reason, for foreign students,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, noting that the government issues more than 200,000 student visas each year.

“It is a good environment for students to explore the boundaries of knowledge, contribute to the body of knowledge in their given field of study,” he said.

While calling Monday's shooting deaths of 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech a “terrible tragedy,” McCormack said, “Be assured that local officials, state officials, federal officials as well as university officials do everything that they believe is prudent, everything that they can, to ensure that the students are able to study and thrive in a safe environment.” “On the whole, this is a place where I expect foreign students will want to continue to come to study,” he said.

About 2,000 foreigners are enrolled at Virginia Tech, where at least 30 students and staff were shot dead on Monday by a 23-year-old South Korean national, Cho Seung-Hui, who then killed himself.

A number of foreigners were believed to be among the victims of the shootings, though the State Department declined to comment pending official notification of the victims' identities by Virginia authorities.

—AFP