A US intelligence report has found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, BBC reported.

The report released by US President Joe Biden’s administration says the prince approved a plan to either "capture or kill" Khashoggi.

"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," the report by the office of the US director of national intelligence says.

The report goes on to name individuals allegedly complicit in, or responsible for, Khashoggi's death. But it says "we do not know how far in advance" those involved planned to harm him.

Jamal Khashoggi had gone to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018, in order to obtain papers allowing him to marry his Turkish fiancée, and no one has seen him since.