RIYADH, April 2: Three Saudi nationals, who were reported to be part of a group that received training in Afghanistan, were executed in the northern Saudi town of Sakaka. The three men were found guilty of kidnapping, robbery, murder, and shooting at policemen, high officials, imams and judges. These were the first reported execution of people found involved in the current wave of violence in Saudi Arabia.

One of their collaborators was sentenced to five years imprisonment, according to a statement of the ministry of interior. Saudi officials said the criminals, who were described as extremists, were found guilty of killing security men and officials in Al Jouf region, misusing religion and describing Muslims as infidels to justify their crimes.

Those executed were Hisham ibn Awwad Minzil al Awdha, Mohammed ibn Awadh ibn Rija al Belhood and Amjad ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Khamis al Jaber. Their collaborator who sheltered them and was a back-up, was named Sultan ibn Abdulrahman ibn Mana’a al Mazyad. The three extremists had met earlier in Afghanistan and then reunited in Al Jouf.