Saudi Beheads National for Murder

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its nationals on Tuesday in the southwestern Aseer region after he was convicted of murdering a fellow citizen, the interior ministry announced.

Mohammed al-Qahtani shot dead Mueed al-Qahtani during a fight between the two, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

His execution brings to 11 the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia so far this year.

In 2012, the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom beheaded 76 people, according to an Agence France Presse tally based on official figures. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.