NEW DELHI: A day after Saudi Arabia admitted to Jamal Khashoggi's killing inside its Istanbul consulate, a senior Saudi Arabian government official gave a new version of scribe's death that contradicts previous explanations on key aspects. A Saudi official told the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity how a team of 15 Saudi nationals sent to confront Jamal Khashoggi on October 2 threatened to drug and kidnap the journalist, and then killed him in a chokehold when he resisted. He also informed how a member of that squad then dressed in Khashoggi's clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate.

The official said the Saudi government wanted to convince Khashoggi to return to the kingdom as a part of a drive to prevent Saudi dissidents from being recruited by the country's enemies. To achieve this purpose, a 15 member team was formed.

The plan was to hold Khashoggi in a safe house outside Istanbul for "a period of time" but then release him if he ultimately refused to return to Saudi Arabia, the official told Reuters. However, things did not go as per the plan as the team overstepped their orders in the first place and resorted to violence.

Khashoggi was taken to council general's office, where an operative tried to convince him to return to the kingdom, in a vain attempt. The scribe told the officer that he had left someone waiting for him outside the building and if he isn't allowed to leave that person would call the Turkish authorities.

Khashoggi told the officer he was violating diplomatic norms and said, "What are you going to do with me? Do you intend to kidnap me?" The officer replied, "Yes, we will drug you and kidnap you."

As the argument broke out, the team got panicked and placed him in a chokehold to restrain him and covered his mouth. "They tried to prevent him from shouting but he died," the official said adding that their intention was not to kill him.

After Khashoggi died, they rolled up his body in a rug and used a consular vehicle to take it out of the building and gave it to someone for disposal, Reuters reported quoting the official. Later, a forensic expert tried to remove whatever traces were left of the incident.

Then an operative walked out of the building wearing Khashoggi clothes and gadgets to make it look like it was Khashoggi who's goingout of the consulate, the report said. He then disposed Khashoggi's belongings at a place in Sultanahmet district.

Later, the team filed a false report for its seniors in which they mentioned that they allowed Khashoggi to leave after he warned that Turkish authorities could get involved in the matter and that they promptly left the country before they could be discovered, Reuters quoted the official as saying.

After 18 days in which it insisted it had no involvement in the Khashoggi disappearance, Riyadh on early Saturday morning said that an initial investigation by the government's general prosecutor found that the Saudi journalist had been in discussions with people inside the consulate when a quarrel broke out and escalated to a fatal fistfight.

It said 18 Saudis have been arrested in connection with his death and two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as three other intelligence agents, have been sacked. Saudi Arabia has plunged into an international crisis over the fate of Khashoggi, who was critical of the crown prince.

He went to the consulate on October 2 for paperwork needed for his upcoming wedding to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who stood outside the consulate building.

Turkish investigators had concluded days ago that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a Saudi team dispatched to Istanbul. US officials have said that Turkey has audio and video recordings providing evidence that the journalist was interrogated and killed inside the consulate and his body cut into several pieces.

According to the Washington Post, CIA officials had listened to an audio recording that Turkish officials say proved the journalist was killed and dismembered by the Saudi team, according to people familiar with the matter.

(With inputs from agencies)