NICOSIA, Cyprus — An off-duty British soldier was stabbed to death in the popular Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa on Sunday, police said, adding they had detained three British tourists for questioning.

The incident occurred at a nightclub in the resort. The soldier, identified as a 19-year-old serving with the Second Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was stabbed in the chest and was dead upon arrival at a local hospital.

Two police sources told Reuters that the three suspects held for questioning were British citizens.

"We can confirm there was a stabbing incident involving a British soldier who was killed," a spokeswoman for the British bases in Cyprus said.

The victim was serving in his regiment at Dhekelia, one of two bases Britain has maintained on the east Mediterranean island, a former colony, since independence in 1960.