A Saudi intelligence officer who served at the kingdom’s embassy in London was among an alleged “hit squad” of spies and soldiers who flew into Istanbul the day of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, according to dissidents.

Pro-government Turkish media published the names and photographs of 15 Saudi men who allegedly made a mysterious one-day trip to Istanbul on private jets the day Mr Khashoggi vanished at the Saudi consulate.

One member of the squad appears to be Maher Mutreb, a Saudi intelligence officer who was based in London in 2007. “I recognised his photograph immediately,” said Ghanim al-Dosari, a Saudi satirist living in exile in London, who knew Mr Mutreb socially. “It is crazy if he was part of a murder team.”

Social media sleuths identified another man from the squad as a senior crimes scene investigator in Saudi Arabia. A third appeared to be a special forces soldier who worked as a bodyguard to Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

The apparent outing of members of the Saudi security services will add to growing international pressure on the kingdom, which faces accusations from Turkey of having murdered and dismembered Mr Khashoggi when he went to the consulate on October 2.