Bangladeshi authorities say an unknown gunman killed a Saudi diplomat early Tuesday in the streets of the country's capital, Dhaka.

Police say they found Khalaf al-Ali, an official with Saudi Arabia's embassy in Dakha, after he was shot in the chest near his home in the Gulshan neighborhood. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the diplomat's death.

A senior police officer told the French News Agency that the Saudi had been living alone in the neighborhood for years and was a regular late-night walker.

He also said a security guard at a house saw a man fleeing in a car immediately after the shooting, but the guard could not tell if there was another person in the car.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry confirmed the attack and urged the Bangladeshi government to increase security for its staff in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, enjoys close ties with Saudi Arabia. The Gulf state is a top destination for many Bangladeshi migrant workers.

However, relations between the two countries became strained last October, when Saudi authorities executed eight Bangladeshi workers for alleged involvement in an armed robbery that resulted in the death of an Egyptian security guard.