RIYADH - Three Pakistanis were executed by the sword in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Friday after being convicted of drug trafficking, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said.

Elias Ahmad Bashir was convicted of attempting to smuggle heroin into the kingdom while compatriots Dawai Khan Bashir and Mohammad Zaher Khan were found guilty of receiving the drugs, said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The executions takes to 28 the number of beheadings announced by Saudi authorities so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.

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