Defence lawyers will attend next week’s trial of Saddam Hussein and former top members of his regime, dropping a threat to boycott the proceedings because of the killing of two counsel, a spokesman for the defence said today.

A defence lawyer in the Saddam Hussein case who was wounded in an ambush today said he had fled the country and was appealing to the ruler of the Gulf state of Qatar to grant him asylum.

Saddam Hussein’s lawyer blamed US-led “occupation forces” today for the killing of a second colleague in the trial and urged Arab leaders to “shoulder their responsibility” to combat disorder here that threatens the proceeding.

Three gunmen in a speeding car killed a defence lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial and wounded another today in Western Baghdad.

Three gunmen in a speeding car killed a lawyer for a co-defendant in Saddam Hussein’s trial and wounded another today in Baghdad, a member of the defence team and police said.