Saudi Arabia executes prince in a rare royal death sentence

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia says it has executed a prince who fatally shot another man in a melee, a rare death sentence carried out against a member of the kingdom's extensive royal family.

The Interior Ministry said late on Tuesday it had executed Prince Turki bin Saud bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabeer in Riyadh. It did not describe how the sentence was carried out, though the Sunni-ruled kingdom often beheads the condemned in public.

A ministry statement carried on the state-run Saudi Press Agency warned "whoever dares to commit such a crime that the Shariah penalty is awaiting."

Saudi Arabia is among the world's top executioners.

Such royal executions are rare, but have happened before. In 1975, the kingdom beheaded Faisal bin Musaid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for assassinating King Faisal.