Saudi Executes Leaders of Yemeni Armed Gang

Two Yemenis condemned to death for forming an armed gang and for robbery were executed in the Saudi capital on Thursday, the interior ministry said.

In a statement cited by the official SPA news agency, the ministry said the two were the leaders of a gang whose other members have been sentenced to flogging and prison terms.

A total of 56 people have now been put to death in Saudi Arabia since the start of the year, according to an Agence France Presse count.

In 2012, the Gulf country put 76 people to death, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Human Rights Watch has 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.