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Saudi Arabia has admitted Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
After two weeks of repeated denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance, the kingdom admitted on Saturday the journalist died in a"fist-fight" inside the consulate. The Saudis, under intense pressure to explain Khashoggi's whereabouts, have offered conflicting accounts. They initially said he had left the consulate on 2 October - but on Friday admitted for the first time he was dead, saying he had been killed in a fight. This claim met widespread scepticism.
Adel al-Jubeir's comments, describing the incident as murder, are some of the most direct to come from a Saudi official. Reuters news agency reported on Sunday it had spoken to a Saudi official who said Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a rug and given to a local"co-operator"to dispose of. A Saudi operative then reportedly donned Khashoggi's clothes and left the consulate.
Separately, CNN quoted a senior Turkish official as saying a Saudi agent had been captured on surveillance footage dressed as the journalist.
