Police have begun investigations into the fatal stabbing of a Saudi Arabian woman in Essex, south-east England, The Guardian reported on Thursday.

Detectives believe the woman – a student of English at the University of Essex in her early 30s – may have been targeted because she was wearing "traditional Islamic dress."

She was wearing a patterned headscarf and a dark navy head-to-toe robe, police revealed.

Police are currently questioning a 52-year-old man in connection with the killing.

The women was attacked as she was walking in the town of Colchester. She received several facial injuries and stab wounds to her body.

She was due to return to Saudi Arabia in a few weeks.

"We are conscious that the dress of the victim will have identified her as likely being a Muslim and this is one of the main lines of the investigation but again there is no firm evidence at this time that she was targeted because of her religion," Detective Superintendent Tracy Hawkings said.

The Saudi embassy said Riyadh's ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, had expressed his condolences to the victim's brother during a phone call, saying the case was receiving his "personal attention."

Prince Mohammed added that the embassy was taking all the procedures required to transfer her body to Saudi Arabia.  

Fiyaz Mughal, an activist at Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks (MAMA), said: “Visibly Muslim women are the ones targeted at a street level for anti- Muslim comments and general abuse.”

She advised women to report any such incidents.

Three Emirati women were attacked by an armed gang in their hotel room in London in April. Five British suspects have since been charged for offences including attempted murder related to the incident.