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The son of murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi has arrived in the United States after leaving Riyadh with his family, an informed source told CNN on Thursday.

Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen, had earlier been unable to leave Riyadh after his passport was circumscribed by the Kingdom a few months ago.

A State Department spokesman said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Saudis to release the dead journalist's son and Deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said the U.S. was "pleased" that he was permitted to leave the country.

Salah Khashoggi is the firstborn son of The Washington Post columnist who Saudis officials currently acknowledge was killed in a premeditated murder carried out by a squad of men with close ties to the country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

At first, Saudi Arabia denied all knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance inside their consulate in Istanbul on October 2. However, Saudi officials later announced that they had identified 18 men involved in the operation, leading the State Department to declare it was freezing visas for 21 Saudi nationals.

On Thursday, Palladino said the additional three people targeted by the U.S. belonged to Saudi Arabia's intelligence services, royal court, and a government ministry.

On Tuesday, the Crown Prince and his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz were pictured shaking hands with the Salah at an investment conference in Riyadh, CNN reported.

Salah Khashoggi's departure came hours after the public prosecutor's office admitted, based on a report from Turkey, that the killing of the journalist had been planned beforehand, adding that those accountable for the crime would be punished.

Turkey said it believed a hit squad of Saudi nationals had traveled to Istanbul with an exclusive purpose of killing Khashoggi, a former member of the Saudi elite who became critical of the current government's administration in his country.

-Sowmya Sangam