Adel Mohammed Abbas was representing one of Saddam’s seven co-defendants, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan.
Mr Abbas was shot dead after unknown gunmen fired a spray of bullets into a car he was travelling in with fellow lawyer Tamer Hammud Hadi in Baghdad, an interior ministry source reportedly told the Agence France Presse (AFP) news service.
Mr Hadi, who was assisting with the defence of Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ihrahim al-Tikriti, was rushed to hospital.
Ramadan was one of the former dictator’s closest aides and had earned a reputation as one of his ‘enforcers’.
Barzan once headed the feared Mukhabarat intelligence service and worked closely alongside Saddam, managing his personal fortune until 1995.
Both men stand alongside Saddam and five others, accused of involvement the 1982 massacre of more than 140 Shi’ite villagers in Dujail.
All have pleaded not guilty to the charges and face the possibility of execution if convicted.
Trial delays
The trial opened on October 19, but was suspended later that month after the abduction and execution of defence lawyer Saadun Janabi on October 20.
Proceedings were scheduled to resume on November 28, but that is now less likely.
Defence lawyers in the trial have refused to resume contact with the Iraqi high tribunal until a list of key demands are met to ensure their safety.
The provision of 15 bodyguards per lawyer, United Nations security at meetings of the defence committee and an independent investigation into Mr Janabi’s killing.
Operation Steel Curtain
Meanwhile at least 180 suspected terrorists have been rounded up during raids against insurgents in the far western Iraqi town of Husayba, near the border with Syria, the US military said.
According to the statement, some of those captured had “originated from various countries within Asia and Africa.”
Some 1,000 Iraqi and 2,500 US troops have been scouring the border region in Al-Anbar province as part of Operation Steel Curtain since November 5.
In the latest fighting, at least one US marine and 36 suspected insurgents were reportedly killed.
The joint operation aimed a at shattering the Iraqi al-Qaeda network, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has responded with an internet statement warning of a retaliatory attack dubbed The Conquest of Vengeance.
Security Council extends coalition mandate
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to extend the deployment of US-led forces in Iraq for one year.
Coalition troops have until December 2006 the help stabilise Iraqi security under the new agreement, following a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari last month.
In a concession to French and Russian objections, though, the mandate will be subject to review by the council on June 15 next year.
“Addressing these issues now will give the newly elected Iraqi government time to assume office, address constitutional questions and consolidate its authority before confronting issues such as those addressed in this resolution,” US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said.