A judge on the special tribunal that will put Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime on trial has been killed in the Iraqi capital, according to an Iraqi police official and a media report.

Judge Barawiz Muhammad Mahmud and a relative were killed on Tuesday in northern Baghdad's al-Adhamyiah district, the official said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

Dubai-based satellite TV news network Al-Arabiya reported that the judge and his son died in the attack. The network said the men were killed near their house in northern Baghdad.

The New York Times reported that the son, Aryan Mahmud, was a lawyer with the special tribunal.

Safety concerns

The judges on the special tribunal had not been identified in public because of concerns for their safety. 

Judge Mahmud was apparently the first one to be killed.

Officials with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi special tribunal could not be reached before dawn on Wednesday for comment.

Mahmud's role on the tribunal was unclear, but the law establishing it called for up to 20 investigative judges and up to 20 prosecutors.

It also said the tribunal would have one or more trial chambers, each with five judges.

Set for trial

The killings come one day after five former members of Saddam Hussein's government - including one of his half brothers - were referred to trial for crimes against humanity.

The announcement on Monday by the tribunal marked the first time that the special court issued referrals, similar to indictments, which are the final step before trials can start.   

Hussein was captured in December 2003, and others have been in custody for nearly two years.

US military officials transferred 12 of the top defendants to Iraqi custody in June with the handover of sovereignty.

They are being held at an undisclosed location near Baghdad International Airport, west of the capital.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. helicopter flies through a cloud of smoke from a bomb blast in central Baghdad, March 2, 2005. (Reuters)