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Missing dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered with a bone saw in a “Pulp Fiction”-style killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, it was claimed today.

Turkish authorities believe he was murdered on orders from “the highest levels of the royal court” in Riyadh, according to the New York Times, citing a senior official.

A Turkish pro-government newspaper today printed the names and pictures of 15 Saudis who allegedly arrived in Istanbul on two private jets the day the journalist vanished.

Sabah revealed the identities of a “mysterious” 15-member “assassination squad” allegedly involved in his disappearance eight days ago.

US-based Mr Khashoggi 58, who has been critical of the Saudi regime, is said to have died within two hours of going into the building to pick up documents so he could marry his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz.

The official cited by the New York Times reportedly described a quick assassination, and dismemberment by a team of Saudi agents with a bone saw brought for the purpose. “It is like Pulp Fiction,” the official said.

Turkish channel NTV broadcast a video of a large van arriving at the Consul-General’s residence two hours after Mr Khashoggi had entered the consulate.

Saudi authorities deny he was murdered in the consulate and have allowed Turkish authorities to search it. Their decision highlights the rising international pressure Riyadh faces.

The images of the 15 men published by Sabah — which is close to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan — were apparently taken at passport control last Tuesday.

The paper said they checked into two hotels in Istanbul, the day Mr Khashoggi went missing, and left later that day on two private jets, and possibly by other means.

The two hotels are the Wyndham and Movenpick, in the same neighbourhood as the Saudi consulate. Turkish authorities, tipped off about Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance, reportedly rushed to Istanbul Airport to search the jets but could not stop one taking off.

They are said to have boarded the second but found nothing suspicious.

Turkey has identified the roles most of the 15 men held in the Saudi government or security services, according to a security official.

One was alleged to be an expert in post-mortem examinations, presumably there to help dismember the body, the official added.

Saudi leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, have denied Mr Khashoggi died in the consulate, insisting he left shortly after he arrived.

CCTV shows him arriving but no pictures have emerged of him leaving. He had written columns for the Washington Post critical of the Saudi regime.

Today the Post published a column by Ms Cengiz, who called on Donald and Melania Trump to “help shed light” on his disappearance.