Khashoggi's Body Was Dismembered, Destroyed After He Was Strangled - Official

The body of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered and destroyed after he was strangled in the consulate general of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement Wednesday.

"Khashoggi, in accordance with the [murderers'] predetermined plan, was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate general, after which his body was dismembered and destroyed," the statement said.

The statement comes after earlier reports that Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor, Saud Al Mojeb, arrived in Istanbul on Sunday. He has met with Istanbul's chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan twice, and inspected the Saudi consulate. However, Turkish officials expressed "a deep distrust" toward Al Mojeb when he refused to answer questions regarding the place where Khashoggi's body is, the Turkish newspaper reported earlier in the day.

Following more than two weeks of denials, Saudi Arabia admitted on October 19 that Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, had been killed in a brawl inside the diplomatic mission.

According to Riyadh, 18 people have been arrested over their suspected involvement in the incident. On Thursday, the Saudi prosecutor general acknowledged that the journalist's murder had been orchestrated in advance. However, Riyadh maintains that the murder had nothing to do with the Saudi Royal family, describing it as a rogue operation.