Iraq judges move to compound

BAGHDAD – More than 30 Iraqi judges have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq, underscoring the need for the new complex in Baghdad aimed at protecting the justice system, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Monday.

The slaying of 31 judges was disclosed during a press conference to promote a new heavily secured justice complex in eastern Baghdad that began operating last month.

The so-called Rule of Law complex has been dubbed by some as a mini-Green Zone for Iraqi judges and investigators who will live there with their families to avoid outside violence. The Green Zone is a heavily fortified complex elsewhere in Baghdad that holds the U.S. and British embassies along with the Iraqi government’s headquarters and parliament.

Col. Mark Martins, the military’s staff judge advocate in Iraq, said 12 Iraqi judges and four police investigators were now in the complex with their families.