( AFP ) - Iran has hanged 17 convicted drug traffickers in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province and four other criminals in the southern city of Shiraz, state media said Wednesday.
"These 17 smugglers were recognised as being corrupt on this earth by the judiciary after legal procedures and were hanged at dawn this morning," the website of state broadcasting quoted a police spokesman as saying.
There were no further details over whether the executions had taken place in public or in prison.
State media said another four convicted drug traffickers and bandits were hanged in public front of large crowds in the southern city of Shiraz in the Fars province on Wednesday.
The Islamic republic has stepped up executions of rapists, drug traffickers and others deemed a public menace in recent months as part of a campaign it says is aimed at improving security in society.