Saudi Arabia has beheaded 37 Saudi citizens in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes, publicly pinning one of the headless bodies to a pole as a warning to others.
It marked the largest number of executions in a single day in Saudi Arabia since January 2, 2016, when the kingdom executed 47 individuals, including a prominent Shi'Ite cleric whose death sparked protests in Iran and the ransacking of the Saudi embassy there.
The executions also come days after four Islamic State gunmen died trying to attack a Saudi security building north of the capital, Riyadh, and on the heels of Easter Day attacks that killed more than 300 people in Sri Lanka and were claimed by the Islamic State group.
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said Tuesday's executions were carried out in accordance with Islamic law, using language that indicated they were all beheadings.
The body of one of the men - Khaled bin Abdel Karim al-Tuwaijri - was publicly pinned to a pole for several hours in a process that is not frequently used by the kingdom and has sparked controversy for its grisly display.
The statement did not say in which city of Saudi Arabia the public display took place.
The government defends such executions as a powerful tool for deterrence.
The Interior Ministry statement said those executed had adopted extremist ideologies and formed terrorist cells with the aim of spreading chaos and provoking sectarian strife.
It said the individuals had been found guilty according to the law and ordered executed by the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh, which specialises in terrorism trials, and the country's high court.
The individuals were found guilty of attacking security installations with explosives, killing a number of security officers and co-operating with enemy organisations against the interests of the country, the interior ministry said.
The statement named all those executed, which included several from large families and tribes in Saudi Arabia.
The mass execution that took place Tuesday was ratified by a royal decree.
