Pictures show second child rapist executed with AK-47 and hanged from crane in Yemen

A convicted child rapist has been shot dead by police in Yemen and hanged from a crane, in what is the second public execution in as many weeks.

Hussein al-Sakit was found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering a four-year-old girl, who he later buried.

The victim's uncle said the 22-year-old joined the search for the child before eventually being "unmasked" as her killer during a police investigation.

He said his public execution would act as a "deterrent for criminals".

Pictures released on Monday (14 August) show the 22-year-old being dragged out to Tahrir Square in Yemen's largest city, Sanaa.

He was forced to lie face down on the ground before being shot dead by police officers with an AK-47.

His bloodied corpse was then strung up and hanged from a crane for the city's residents to see.

It comes just two weeks after another man was executed in the same square after being convicted of raping and murdering a three-year-old girl.

Muhammed al-Maghrabi was also shot dead with an AK-47 assault rifle.

Both executions have been pitched as Shiite rebels' efforts to combat crime in their areas.

Yemen's legal system is based on a combination of sharia law, excerpts of Egyptian and other Arab laws, and French civil code imposed during the colonial era.

Murder, rape and terrorism are all among offences that can lead to capital punishment.

The country is currently in the grip of a devastating civil war between its Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi fighters, who seized parts of the country in 2014 and 2015.

The UN has described Yemen as "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world", with nearly 19 million people needing some kind of humanitarian support or protection.