Lebanese police have arrested a man on suspicion of raping and murdering a female British diplomat in Beirut.
Rebecca Dykes, 30, was abducted after leaving a party in the city before being strangled and dumped by the side of a motorway on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital.
Police have arrested a man, named only as TH, in a 3am raid today, according to local sources, and he is being questioned on suspicion of murder.
The body of the 30-year-old former public schoolgirl was found by a motorway several miles from the nightspot she was last seen alive.
Lebanese police have launched an investigation following the discovery on Saturday evening and Miss Dykes’ family are ‘devastated’ by her death.
Rebecca Dykes, a UK diplomat who worked at the British embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, has been found dead
Ms Dykes (pictured) started working for the government in 2010 and started working as a programme and policy manager in Lebanon since January
Police are investigating whether Ms Dykes (pictured), 30, was sexually before her body was found
It is believed she was abducted minutes after she left the bar.
Her body has reportedly been transferred to the Dahr al-Bashak Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
A security source said she was discovered with a ‘piece of string around her neck’.
Another official involved in the investigation said the crime did not appear to be ‘politically motivated’.
The Lebanese official said her body was found ‘on the side of the Emile Lahoud road’, just north of Beirut.
A family spokesman said: ‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.
‘We request that the media respect our privacy as we come together as a family at this very difficult time.’
Al Jadeed TV reports Ms Dykes had been raped and an official said investigators are probing whether she was sexually assaulted.
British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, said: ‘The whole embassy is deeply shocked and saddened by this news.
‘Our thoughts are with Becky’s family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss.
‘We are providing consular support to Becky’s family and working very closely with the Lebanese local authorities who are conducting the police investigation.’
Friends said she was flying home for Christmas Saturday.
Ms Dykes joined the Department for International Development and had been working as a programme and policy manager based in Lebanon since January.
Before she moved to Beirut she worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Libya team as a policy manager. She had previously worked as an Iraq Research Analyst with the FCO.
Her body was found on Saturday close to the Metn expressway (pictured) in Lebanon’s capital
Ms Dykes was working in Beirut (pictured) and her body has been found close to the busy road
The University of Manchester graduate also had a masters in International Security and Global Governance from Birkbeck, University of London.
She also spent four years teaching teenagers English in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for the Department for International Development where she worked said: ‘Our thoughts are with Becky’s family and friends at this very upsetting time.
‘There is now a police investigation and the FCO (Foreign Office) is providing consular support to Becky’s family and working with the local authorities.’
A Foreign Office spokesman added: ‘Following the death of a British woman in Beirut, we are providing support to the family.
‘We remain in close contact with local authorities. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.’