Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, according to a US intelligence report submitted to Congress. "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Khashoggi," it said. "We judge that RIF members wouldn't have participated in the operation against Khashoggi without the prince's approval," ODNI said. The prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him. Though Saudi officials had pre-planned an "unspecified operation against Khashoggi we do not know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him", it said.

Source: Mint February 27, 2021 00:45 UTC