Turkey pol criticizes Saudi Khashoggi statement

A senior member of Turkey's ruling party has criticized Saudi Arabia over its acknowledgement that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a "fistfight" at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Leyla Şahin Usta says the kingdom should have given its explanation "before the situation reached this point."

Usta, a human rights official in the ruling Justice and Development Party, said Saturday that Turkish authorities, including prosecutors, forensic and security officials, have already reached some conclusions as part of their investigation into Khashoggi's death.

She says it would have been "more valuable" if Saudi officials had admitted that Khashoggi was killed in its diplomatic post.

Saudi Arabia initially denied allegations that the columnist for The Washington Post had been killed in its consulate. It acknowledged early Saturday that he had and said 18 Saudi suspects were in custody and intelligence officials had been fired.