Khashoggi died at consulate after a brawl

Saudi attorney general released a statement claiming the scribe entered into a fist fight but did not disclose information about the body

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia admitted on Saturday that critic Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, saying he died during a “brawl”, an explanation that President Donald Trump called credible but drew scepticism from top US lawmakers.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of the Islamic petro-state’s powerful crown prince, was last seen on October 2 entering his country’s consulate in Istanbul.

His disappearance had been shrouded in mystery and tipped Saudi Arabia into one of its worst international crises, with Turkish officials accusing it of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body.

The admission - after persistent claims by the Saudi authorities that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive - came amid the threat of US sanctions and appears aimed at distancing Prince Mohammed from the affair.

In the latest version of events from Riyadh, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-mojeb said Khashoggi died after talks at the consulate degenerated into an altercation. He did not disclose the whereabouts of the journalist’s body.

“Discussions that took place between him and the persons who met him... at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl and a fistfight with the citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace,” the attorney general said in a statement.

‘PRINCE NOT INVOLVED’

Saudi officials have roundly denied that Prince Mohammed had any involvement.

But one suspect identified by Turkey was said to be a frequent companion of the young heir to the throne, three others were linked to his security detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic specialist, according to The New York Times. In a recent off-therecord interview published posthumously by US magazine Newsweek, Khashoggi described the 33-year-old as “an old-fashioned tribal leader” out of touch with the Saudi poor. But the onetime royal insider said he would have accepted an offer to work as the prince’s adviser. “I’m not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it’s not possible,” he said. “I’m just calling for reform of the regime.”

Saudi Arabia’s admission comes after Turkish authorities widened their probe on Friday, searching a forest in Istanbul where the body might have been dumped.

Pro-government Turkish media have repeatedly claimed that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad, although Turkey has yet to divulge investigation details.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Trump ally, said he doubted the latest admission from Saudi authorities. “To say that I am sceptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr Khashoggi is an understatement,” he tweeted.

French foreign minister Jeanyves Le Drian Saturday sought an “exhaustive and diligent investigation” into the killing.