ISTANBUL, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Istanbul's chief prosecutor said on Monday that one of the suspects implicated in the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had discussed "the disposal of the body" with a Saudi citizen in Turkey's northwestern province of Yalova.
"It was found that one of the suspects who was involved in the killing of Khashoggi contacted a Saudi Arabian citizen residing in Yalova, a day before the incident," the prosecutor said in a written statement.
"It is assessed that this conversation was accomplished to discuss the disposal or the hiding of Jamal Khashoggi's body after its dismemberment," said the statement.
The prosecutor's office identified the suspect as Mansour Othman M. Abbahussain, a member of the Saudi hit squad sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi, and named the Saudi citizen he discussed with as Mohammed Ahmed Alfaozan.
Earlier in the day, Turkish police launched a comprehensive search into two adjoining villas in Yalova as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to the Istanbul chief prosecutor, Khashoggi was strangled to death after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and his body was dismembered and destroyed thereafter.
The Saudi public prosecutor has demanded death penalty against five of the suspects implicated in the murder of Khashoggi.
