( CNN ) -- Iraqi authorities executed 17 people , including an Egyptian man and two Iraqi women , most of whom were convicted of terrorism , Iraq 's Ministry of Justice said in a statement released Monday . `` The Ministry carried out the executions against the terrorists after it was approved by the presidential council , '' the ministry said in the statement . The prisoners were put to death in what appears to be the latest of several executions carried out by authorities in recent months , despite a United Nations call for restraint . Nearly 70 people were executed in Iraq in 2013 , according to CNN tally , and Human Rights Watch reports that more than 120 people were executed between 2011 and 2012 . The executions come as Iraq smolders with sectarian tension and political infighting . Violence in Iraq surged in May , with 1,045 deaths , the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq announced . That had been the deadliest month since 2008 . In June , terrorism and other violence claimed 761 Iraqi lives . And in July , the death toll hit 1,057 , UNAMI said . Insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces persist in the country , though violence has dropped dramatically since the peak of Sunni-Shiite clashes in 2006 and 2007 . Baghdad 's Shiite-dominated government has blamed the recent attacks on Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda .
An Iraqi man and Nearly 70 Egyptian women are among those executed , a statement says . It says most of them had been convicted of terrorism . This appears to be the latest of several executions in May . They come despite a UNAMI call for restraint .