Police search villa in north-west Turkey in Khashoggi murder probe

Turkish police were Monday searching a villa in the north-western province of Yalova in connection with Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, state media reported.

Police were at the two-storey villa with sniffer dogs, and were supported in their search by drones, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Their search was concentrated on a well in the garden of the villa in Termal district, Anadolu said.

According to pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak, investigators suspect that Khashoggi's remains are buried there.

Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2. His remains have not yet been located. There is also no confirmation of who ordered the killing.

Turkish security forces searched a villa in Yalova province, near Istanbul, in late October, with media reports saying at the time that it belonged to a member of a Saudi ‘hit squad.’  That search took place as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited Yalova as one of the two areas that Saudi consulate employees allegedly scouted ahead of Khashoggi's murder.