BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The trial of former Iraqi resident Saddam Hussein and his seven aides resumed in a closed session on Wednesday in Baghdad amid boycott of his defense team.

    "The closed session of Saddam's trial is under way," anofficial in the court's media office, preferred not to be named,told Xinhua.

    The official did not say why Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdul Rahman ordered the ninth session to be a closed one. It was not known whether Saddam and his seven codefendants attended the session.

    Saddam's defense team said they would boycott the trial unless their 11 conditions were met, including the removal of new Chief Judge Rahman. Enditem