BAGHDAD -- Iraq said it had executed 11 people convicted of crimes related to "terrorist attacks."

The Justice Ministry said the executions took place on November 24. A total of 162 people have been executed in Iraq so far this year, compared with 129 in all of 2012.

International organizations and human rights groups have called on Baghdad to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; with UN human rights chief Navi Pillay claiming Iraq's criminal justice system does not function "adequately."

But Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari said the executions are carried out only after an exhaustive legal process.

The executions come amid increased sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims that has left more than 500 people dead in November alone, most of them in explosions and car-bomb attacks.

Source: Agence France-Presse, November 26, 2013