US President Donald Trump has fiercely defended Mohammed bin Salman, insisting the Saudi crown prince did not know about Saudi agents' 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, effectively contradicting an assessment by US intelligence agencies.

The controversy over the killing of Khashoggi, a US-based critic of the Saudi leadership, flared again as the kingdom's de facto ruler made his first White House visit in more than seven years on Tuesday, local time, seeking to further rehabilitate his global image tarnished by the incident.

US intelligence concluded that Crown Prince Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom's de facto rul

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