UPDATE - Turkey, S.Arabia set to start Khashoggi probe

UPDATES WITH INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE MET AT ISTANBUL SECURITY HEADQUARTERS

By Huseyin Bagis and Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Members of a committee probing the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi met Monday at the Istanbul Security headquarters, sources said.

According to the security sources, who refused to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, the members which include both Turkish and Saudi officials are holding talks.

Diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency earlier on Monday that the start of the joint probe at the Saudi Consulate is imminent.

The investigation of the case of Khashoggi, who has not been seen since entering Saudi Arabia's Istanbul Consulate on Oct. 2, is set to start Monday evening, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman spoke on the phone about the case.

The phone conversation, according to presidential sources, was to form an investigative committee to probe Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Also on Oct. 2, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.

Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, as several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the case to be cleared up as soon as possible.