Turkey has evidence crown prince behind Khashoggi murder, says defence minister

Turkey's defence minister has claimed Ankara has evidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Hulusi Akar made the comments in an interview with the BBC published on Monday, as pressure mounts on Riyadh over the murder in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

"At the moment we have some evidence, which we have shared with allied countries. Our prosecutor is looking at the issue from every angle and every point," Akar said, when asked if Ankara believes Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing.

The minister also said denied that Turkey obtained the recordings of the murder by bugging the consulate.

"There was no surveillance within the consulate. We will not reveal the source of the recordings," Akar said.

Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, with Saudi Arabia claiming rogue agents and officials carried out the killing, without Prince Mohammed's knowledge.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that claims by the CIA that Prince Mohammed ordered  Khashoggi's murder were false.

The US intelligence assessment has directly contradicted the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor that exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the "highest levels" of the Saudi leadership were behind Khashoggi's killing.

Jubeir said that top Turkish officials have assured him that Erdogan did not mean Pince Mohamed.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist living in exile in the US, was mildly critical of the new regime in Riyadh.

After persistent denials and numerous contradictory explanations, Riyadh finally admitted Khashoggi was killed in the consulate and his body was dismembered.

The US has sanctioned 17 Saudis for the crime, including close aides of Mohammed bin Salman, and is set to make final conclusions this week over the killing.