Iraq has executed 21 prisoners convicted on terrorism charges and links to al-Qaeda. Justice Ministry said, the prisoners were executed by hanging in Baghdad yesterday. All the convicts were Iraqi al-Qaeda operatives involved in bombings, car bomb attacks and assassinations. The hangings brought the number of prisoners executed in Iraq so far this year to 50. Amnesty International said, Iraq ranked fourth among the top five executioners in the world in 2011, after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US.