Trump Floats 'rogue Killers' In Khashoggi Case, Pompeo Heads To Saudi

Faizan Hashmi Published October 16, 2018 | 12:05 PM

Rogue killers" could be to blame for the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump has said, as his Secretary of State headed to Riyadh in an attempt to find out what happened.

Riyadh, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2018 ) :"Rogue killers" could be to blame for the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump has said, as his Secretary of State headed to Riyadh in an attempt to find out what happened.

Turkish police on Monday searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for the first time since Khashoggi, a Saudi national and US resident who became increasingly critical of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, went missing.

He has not been seen since he walked into the Istanbul consulate to sort out marriage paperwork on October 2.

Turkish officials have said they believe he was killed -- a claim Saudi Arabia has denied -- with the controversy dealing a huge blow to the kingdom's image and efforts by its youthful crown prince to showcase a reform drive.

But US media reported on Monday that the kingdom is considering an admission that Khashoggi died after an interrogation that went wrong during an intended abduction.

Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for what the State Department described as "face to face meetings with the Saudi leadership".

Until now, Riyadh has not allowed Turkish investigators to search the consulate -- officially Saudi territory -- with reports both sides were at odds over the conditions.

The team, which arrived in a motorcade of six cars late Monday, left the premises in the early hours of Tuesday after an an eight-hour search, an AFP correspondent said.

They took samples with them, including soil from the consulate garden that was loaded into vans, one official at the scene said.

A Saudi delegation had entered the consulate one hour before the Turkish police arrived and appeared still to be inside as the search was conducted.