The trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants, which was scheduled to resume Tuesday, has been delayed until Sunday.
A court spokesman told journalists the court decided to postpone the hearings because some witnesses were unable to attend.
Journalists have been waiting for hours for the court to begin its session.
Monday, the court appointed Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, to temporarily replace the presiding judge who resigned this month after criticism of his conduct of the trial.
In incidents of violence, armed men kidnapped two German engineers from an oil refinery compound in the town of Baiji, north of Baghdad.
Separately, the U.S. military says two soldiers were killed Monday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, while two Marines were killed in a vehicle accident in western Iraq.