The journalist died after a fight at the consulate in Istanbul Deputy intelligence chief, royal court adviser removed from positions JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday the death of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying a preliminary investigation indicated he lost his life after a fight at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. 18 Saudis have been arrested in connection with the incident, the public prosecutor said. Deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Al-Asiri has been removed from his position at the General Intelligence Agency and Saud Al-Qahtani from his advisory role at the Royal Court, decrees ordered. Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who lived in the US, disappeared on Oct. 2 after visiting the the consulate to complete paperwork related to his divorce. King Salman also ordered the creation of a ministerial committee headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure the country’s General Intelligence Agency. A team of Saudi investigators were sent to Istanbul and had been working on the case with Turkish detectives. Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia promised a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened to the journalist in Turkey.