Saudi Arabia says it has beheaded two more of its nationals, bringing to 94 the number of such executions so far this year across the Persian Gulf kingdom.
The men, identified as Awadh al-Atwi and Mussalam al-Qaraani were decapitated in the northwestern region of Tabuk on Wednesday, the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi sources said the men were found guilty of smuggling an undisclosed amount of "narcotic pills" into the country and possessing hashish.
The number of executions by Saudi authorities this year has already surpassed the 87 executions the kingdom carried out in all of 2014.
Beheadings are carried out by using a sword among crowds of people in Saudi Arabia.
A significant number of foreign nationals, including several Pakistanis, Yemenis, and individuals from Syria, Jordan, Myanmar, the Philippines, India, Chad, Eritrea and Sudan, have also been beheaded this year.
Saudi executions have picked up pace in recent months under King Salman, who took over after the death of his half-brother King Abdullah on January 22.
Saudi Arabia recently advertised for eight new executioners and head choppers, recruiting extra staff to carry out the increasing number of death sentences.
International organizations and human rights groups have voiced serious concern over the soar in executions across the country.
"The current surge in executions in Saudi Arabia is yet another stain on the kingdom's human rights record," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a statement on Monday.
Amnesty International has also classified Saudi Arabia as one of the countries with the highest execution rates in the world.
Under the kingdom's legal code, drug trafficking, rape, murder, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by death.
