(Image source from: Times Now)
Saudi Arabia on Saturday admitted that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul, two weeks after his disappearance prompted worldwide rage.
The kingdom as well announced the firing of a top intelligence official Ahmad al-Assiri and royal court media adviser Saud al-Qahtani, both topmost aides to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has gone through escalating coercion over the Khashoggi matter.
Saudi journalist Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom's leadership and a Washington Post contributor, was last seen on October 2 entering his country's consulate in Istanbul.
His disappearance had been shrouded in mystery and triggered an international crisis, with Turkish officials accusing Saudi Arabia of a state-sponsored assassination.
"The discussions between Jamal Khashoggi and those he met at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul... devolved into a fistfight, leading to his death," the Saudi Press Agency said, citing the public prosecutor.
The kingdom announced that 18 people had been arrested in the current investigation.
The Saudi king likewise ordered the setting up of the ministerial committee under the chairmanship of the crown prince to restructure the kingdom's intelligence agency and "define its powers accurately", state media said.
Soon before Riyadh confirmed that Khashoggi had been killed, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman agreed in telephone negotiations to proceed cooperation in the investigation into the Khashoggi affair.
Erdogan and Salman "emphasized the importance of continuing to work together with complete cooperation", said a Turkish presidential source, who asked not to be named.
The United States warned Friday of a "wide range" of responses should it find out that Saudi Arabia is behind the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Turkey widened its probe into the scandal.
President Donald Trump said the U.S., which is Saudi Arabia's biggest backer, could impose sanctions over the feared murder of Khashoggi.
His top diplomat Mike Pompeo told Voice of America Radio: "We'll certainly consider a wide range of potential responses."
The Trump administration has been notably slow to criticize Saudi Arabia, despite mounting indication that Khashoggi, a critic of the Islamic petro-state's potent crown prince, went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Khashoggi case has given Trump with one of the most acute foreign policy crises of his nearly two-year-old presidency.
Pro-government Turkish media have frequently claimed that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad inside the diplomatic mission, although Turkey has yet to disclose details about the probe.
The contention has put the kingdom under unprecedented pressure to offer an explanation to take the heat off its rulers.
-Sowmya Sangam
