Lawyer involved in Saddam case assassinated

A lawyer representing a former Iraqi vice president on trial along with Saddam Hussein was assassinated today in western Baghdad, a colleague on the defence team said.

Adel al-Zubeidi, who represented defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan, was killed and another lawyer was injured in an ambush in the Adil neighbourhood, according to lawyer Khakis al-Obeidi.

Last month, Saadoun al-Janabi, lawyer for co-defendant Awad al-Bandar, was abducted from his office by 10 masked gunmen.

His body was found hours later on a pavement near a mosque in eastern Baghdad.