Saudi Beheaded for Murdering Man by Running him over

Saudi authorities beheaded a citizen in the eastern Qatif region on Tuesday after he was convicted of killing a fellow national, the interior ministry announced.

Mohammed al-Taroti killed Abdullah Abu Sarir by running him over in a car following a dispute, the statement published by the official SPA news agency said.

The latest beheading brings to 38 the number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP tally.

Human Rights Watch voiced alarm this month at the surge in the number of executions that saw 19 people beheaded between August 4 and 20.

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