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An Iraqi judge who oversaw the 2006 execution of former president Saddam Hussein has survived an assassination attempt in Baghdad.

Getting into it: According to authorities, the attempt on Judge Munir Haddad’s life occurred on Sunday morning while he was traveling through the streets of Baghdad. Reports indicate that a white Kia vehicle carrying two masked gunmen pulled up alongside Haddad’s car and opened fire. The passenger reportedly fired multiple rounds in his direction before the vehicle sped away from the scene. Haddad escaped without injury, and local security forces immediately launched a manhunt to track down the assailants, though no arrests have been reported so far.

Haddad, a former deputy chief of the Court of Cassation at Iraq’s Supreme Criminal Court, played a central role in one of the most significant legal events in Iraq’s modern history, the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein. As one of the judges who approved and supervised the implementation of the execution order, Haddad became a nationally recognized figure following the dictator’s hanging in December 2006.

Speaking to Shafaq News after the attempt on his life, Haddad revealed that this incident followed a series of other threats he has received. Just days earlier, while staying at a hotel in Iran, he received a threatening phone call. He also said he had been receiving threatening messages via text.