Riyadh(ANN)-Saudi Arabia has said the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared after visiting the country’s consulate in Istanbul earlier this month, is dead.

The news, which cited preliminary findings from an official investigation, was announced on state television on Friday. It said a fight broke out between Khashoggi and people who met him in the consulate, leading to the death of the reporter.

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Khashoggi was a US permanent resident who wrote for the Washington Post.

It was also announced that Gen Ahmed al-Asiri, an intelligence chief linked to the case, had been dismissed. Eighteen Saudi nationals were said to have been arrested.