A veteran Saudi man who had beheaded scores of convicts in the Kingdom has died at the age of 70, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Ali Hamil Salami was one of the best known and longest-serving swordsmen in Saudi Arabia before he died at his home in the southern Jazan province after a long illness, Sada daily said.

It said a government spokesman in the province conveyed condolences to the deceased’s family from Prince Mohammed bin Naser.