RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday thekingdom did not know where the body of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggiwas, despite admitting the killing and calling it a “tremendous mistake.”
Speaking in an interview on *Fox News*, Jubeir said the Saudi leadershipinitially believed Khashoggi had left its consulate in Istanbul, where hewas last seen on October 2.
But following “reports we were getting from Turkey,” Saudi authoritiesbegan an investigation, which discovered he was killed in the diplomaticmission.
“We don’t know, in terms of details, how. We don’t know where the body is,”Jubeir said, adding that the Saudi public prosecutor had put out orders todetain 18 individuals, “the first step in a long journey.”
He termed the killing a “tremendous mistake” but one which the US-Saudirelationship would eventually overcome.
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“The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of theirauthority. There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and whatcompounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up,” Jubeir told *FoxNews*.
“That is unacceptable in any government. These things unfortunately happen.We want to make sure that those who are responsible are punished and wewant to make sure we have procedures in place to prevent it from happeningagain. “ – APP/AFP
