Iran hanged three convicted drug smugglers

Iran hanged three convicted drug smugglers in the central city of Qom on Sunday, Iranian media said, in the latest public execution in the Islamic state.The number of executions in Iran, many in public, has risen since July with the launch of a crackdown on "immoral" behavior. Police say they have arrested many murderers, rapists and drug traffickers.Murder, rape, adultery, armed robbery, apostasy and drug smuggling are all punishable by death under Iran's sharia law, imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Five drug dealers were hanged in the city of Birjand on November 20.