About 1,100 lawyers have withdrawn from the defense team of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, following the slayings of two colleagues in the past month.
The lawyers say they decided to quit because neither the Iraqi government nor U.S. forces responded to their demands for protection. The lawyers say they will not be present when the trial resumes November 28.
The mass resignations come less than a week after a defense lawyer was gunned down in Baghdad. The bullet-riddled body of another attorney was found in the capital in October.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says a roadside bomb killed two U.S. Marines during combat operations on Saturday in al-Amiriyah, west of Baghdad.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
