Gulf ally the United Arab Emirates on Saturday hailed Saudi Arabia for its response to the death of critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

 

"The United Arab Emirates welcomes the decisions and the directives by King Salman," regarding the Khashoggi affair, state news agency WAM said.

 

Earlier on Saturday, Riyadh announced the arrest of 18 Saudis and the sacking of two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as part of its probe into the killing.