CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered assassination of journalist Khashoggi: US media reports

The CIA has reportedly examined intelligence inputs which point to Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Reuters Photo

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States has reportedly concluded that it was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who had ordered for the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Khashoggi was a vocal critic of many domestic and international policies of Saudi Arabia and had fled the country to become a US resident. On October 2, he was in Istanbul and had gone to the Saudi embassy here but never returned. It is widely suspected that Saudi agents assassinated him and the role of bin Salman is being questioned.

According to a report in The Washington Post, CIA officials have said they have a 'high level of confidence' that the assassination of Khashoggi had links to bin Salman. The CIA has reportedly examined a number of sources of intelligence that prove that bin Salman had called for the hit job. Many top-ranking officials in the United States are also reasonably confident that an assassination on foreign soil - and that of a US resident - could not have happened without the bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, in the know.

The main investigations, however, are being led by Turkish officials with the local prosecutor here alleging that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi embassy and that his body could have been melted using acid and even poured down a drain.

Apart from outrage all over the world directed against the Saudis, the US has also come under fire because President Donald Trump has failed to send out a strong message on the incident.  Earlier this week, the US did impose economic sanctions against 17 Saudi officials for links to the assassination - a move welcomed by a few US allies. Many others maintain that the US needs to do far more to ensure that the Saudis do not go scott-free.

As for the Saudis themselves, it is reported that they may not have expected their covers to be blown and may not have predicted the enormous backlash and condemnation. Little wonder then that the Saudis first insisted that Khashoggi had left the embassy in Istanbul and they did not know where he was. They would then refute allegations that 15 men had flown specially to Turkey for the assassination and said that they were merely tourists. They then admitted the 15 weren't just tourists. Saudis would then say that Khashoggi was choked to death in a fist fight - an accident. There have even been some statements which seek to show that the 15 men may have acted outside of their assigned role and duties.

The u-turns galore from the Saudis have created further backlash.