RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabian prosecutors said through a state-run news agency that missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a fight at the county’s consulate in Istanbul, according to the Associated Press.

State media also quotes prosecutors as saying 18 Saudi nationals are being held on suspicion of being involved in the Washington Post columnist’s death.

Saudi state TV and the state-run Saudi Press Agency carried the statement early Saturday morning.

The Saudi journalist, who is a resident of the United States, had not been seen since he went to the consulate about two weeks ago.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said it “certainly looks” as though missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead.

Trump did not say Thursday what he based his conclusion on. But he says the consequences for the Saudis “will have to be very severe” if they are found to have killed him.

Turkish authorities say he was killed and dismembered. The Saudis had previously denied involvement.

Both the Turkish and Saudi governments are conducting separate investigations into Khashoggi’s disappearance.