Photos of the fifteen men, checking in to hotels in Turkey's largest city Istanbul surfaced early Wednesday morning, on local Turkish media, more than a week after Jamal Khashoggi went missing inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey's biggest city.

The release of the photographs and video raises pressure on Saudi Arabia a week after Khashoggi disappeared during a visit to the consulate.

The Sabah newspaper, which is similarly close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published images of what it referred to as the "assassination squad" apparently taken at passport control.

Saudi Arabia deployed a 15-man hit squad to lie in wait for dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi inside Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul, The New York Times said in an explosive story.

The video then cuts away to traffic outside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul's upscale 4th Levent neighborhood, showing vehicles with green diplomatic license plates.

The Saudi government maintains that they had nothing to do with Khashoggi's disappearance, and that the journalist left the consulate soon after he got there. A video caption says seven other men checked in at another nearby hotel at different times.

Protesters hold posters of Khashoggi during a demonstration organized by members of the Turkish-Arabic Media Association at the entrance to the consulate on Monday.

The Washington Post is reporting that before the journalist disappeared on October 2, Saudi officials discussed a plan to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia. Turkish officials have said they fear the columnist was killed on the premises.

"Two possibilities, either he was killed at the consulate and his body transported out on to the planes onward to Dubai/Cairo - then Riyadh, or he was abducted at the consulate and renditioned back to Saudi Arabia".

Khashoggi's fiancée asks Trump to 'shed light' on his fate

Nine of the agents reportedly arrived on a private jet from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at around 03:15 on the day Mr Khashoggi visited the consulate.

The journalist's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, wrote an op-ed on Tuesday expressing hope her man is still alive.

But he left Saudi Arabia in 2017, fearing censorship and possible detention at the hands of the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The U.S. government has remained relatively quiet on the disappearance, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi leaders to "support a thorough investigation of Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation".

The private jets flew out of Istanbul - with one going to Egypt and the other to Dubai. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations.

The Washington Post also reports that prior to Mr Khashoggi's visit, United States intelligence had intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plot to capture him.

"At this time, I implore President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to help shed light on Jamal's disappearance", she said.

"He did not mind walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul because he did not believe that something bad could happen on Turkish soil".

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said Tuesday that Saudi authorities have notified Ankara that they were "open to cooperation" and would allow the consulate building to be searched.