A brother-in-law of a judge trying Saddam Hussein for genocide in Anfal operation was shot dead, together with his son, by unknown armed men in a western Baghdad neighborhood, a well-informed police source told Xinhua on Friday.

"Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Kadhem Abdul Hussein, brother-in-law of chief judge Muhammed Ureybi, at about 8:00 PM (16:00 GMT) on Thursday, and killed him with his 10-year-old son," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The victim was driving his car in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Ghazaliyah, he said.

Hussein's son Karrar, was seriously wounded in the attack, but he died later in the hospital, he added.

The source said that he could not confirm immediately whether the attack linked to Saddam's trial, in which Ureybi work as judge at the Iraqi High Tribunal.

Ureybi was appointed to replace chief judge Abdulla Al-Amiri only last week by the government after judge Amiri was accused of being lenient with Saddam Hussein and his aides.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2006)