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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen killed a judge and lawyer
working for the special tribunal that will try
Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime, the
first court staff killed since it was set up in late
2003 after the dictator was toppled, officials and a
relative of the slain men said Wednesday,.
News of the deaths came as two car bombs exploded in
the capital, killing 10 Iraqi soldiers and wounding
dozens of others. The first blast targeted an Iraqi
army base in central Baghdad, killing six troops and
wounding at least 25. A second car bomb an hour
later at an army checkpoint in south Baghdad killed
four soldiers, police said.
Judge Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani and his
son, lawyer Aryan Barwez al-Merwani, were shot and
killed Tuesday in Baghdad's northern Azamyiah
district, said the slain judge's son, Kikawz Barwez
Mohammed al-Merwani.
The son said unidentified gunmen in a speeding car
raked the pair with gunfire as they were trying to
get into a vehicle outside their home.
The killings came one day after the court issued
referrals for five former regime members _ including
one of Saddam's half brothers _ for crimes against
humanity. Referrals are similar to indictments, and
are the final step before trials can start.
However, a tribunal official, who asked not to be
named, said the judge was not killed because of his
job.
"He was not killed because he was working at the
tribunal," he said. "It was something personal. I
don't have details, but investigations are still
going on."
The judge's surviving son disagreed, saying the two
were assassinated either because they worked for the
court, or because they were minority Kurds.
"We believe that the murder is politically
motivated, because the two killed were working in
the special tribunal and the son was a senior member
in the PUK office in Baghdad. The late judge had no
personal problems with anybody at all," said Kikawz
Barwez Mohammed al-Merwani. "This is a terrorist act
carried out by Baathists and terrorists."
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of two key
northern Kurdish parties. U.S. authorities dissolved
Saddam's former ruling Baath party after ousting him
from power.
The tribunal official said Tuesday's killings the
first of any staff working on the Iraqi Special
Tribunal, which consists of more than 60
investigative, appellate and trial judges. An
official familiar with the court said al-Merwani was
an investigative judge.
Judges and other legal staff working at the court
have not even been identified in public because of
concerns for their safety, and tribunal officials
have kept a low-profile for the same reason, even
refusing to say where the court is located.
The Iraqi Special Tribunal was set up in late 2003
after Saddam was toppled. But after five potential
candidates were killed, some judges declined calls
to work at the court. At least half of the
tribunal's budget has gone to security.
The court official said the slain judge was one of
more than 60 investigative, appellate and trial
judges working at the court. An official familiar
with the court said al-Merwani was an investigative
judge.
The announcement Monday by the tribunal marked the
first time that the special court issued referrals.
No date was given for that trial.
The five referred to trial included Barzan Ibrahim
al-Hassan al-Tikriti, one of Saddam's half brothers,
and former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan. The
three others were senior Baath Party members.
Saddam was captured in December 2003, and others
have been in custody for nearly two years.
U.S. military officials transferred 12 of the top
defendants to Iraqi custody in June with the
handover of sovereignty. They're being held at an
undisclosed location near Baghdad International
Airport, west of the capital.
Meanwhile, the first car bomb exploded outside an
Iraqi army base in central Baghdad that occupies the
former Muthanna airport, which has been targeted by
insurgents several times over the last year.
An Interior Ministry security official, Ayad Hadi
al-Maliki, said six people were killed and 25 people
were wounded in the blast 15 of them civilians.
The explosion could be heard across the city, and a
plume of black smoke billowed into the air
afterward. Flames leapt from two destroyed civilian
vehicles. Debris from the blast was strewn around
the area, and witnesses said the severed head of a
female soldier lay on the ground.
U.S. and Iraqi troops blocked roads and sealed off
the area after the attack, preventing people from
entering. Helicopters hovered overhead.
Police officer Salam Hashim Mahmoud said the bomber
drove up to the base gate, where army recruits
normally line up to apply for jobs. Residents said
Iraqi security forces opened fire after the
incident.
About an hour later, another car bomb exploded in
southern Baghdad's Doura neighborhood, killing four
Iraqi soldiers at an army checkpoint and wounding
three others, police said on condition of anonymity.
Wednesday's car bombings came two days after a
suicide bomber rammed into a crowd of police and
army recruits in Hillah, a city 60 miles south of
the capital, killing 125 people in the deadliest
single car bombing since Saddam was toppled in 2003.
AP
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