BAGHDAD, Iraq - As the weekend death toll from a blitz of suicide bombings rose to more than 130, the first criminal charges against Saddam Hussein were filed Sunday, raising the prospect that his much-awaited trial could begin in September.

For many Iraqis it will not be a moment too soon to bring to justice the man whose supporters are blamed for at least some of the relentless insurgent violence, which appears to have spiked yet again with a sustained onslaught over the past week.

Announcing the charges, Judge Raed Juhi said a court date will be disclosed within days for Saddam and three of his associates to stand trial for a 1982 crackdown against Shiites in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, during which 158 people were executed. The earliest date will be in September because of a mandatory 45-day waiting period between the filing of charges and the trial in order for the defense to prepare its case.

The Dujail case is only the first of several that may be brought against Saddam, who was linked to human-rights abuses throughout his 25-year rule, some of them far bloodier than the 1982 crackdown.

Amid frustrations with the slow pace of the proceedings, however, and concerns that further delays would encourage more violence, the tribunal has shelved plans to hold one mammoth trial and instead aims to try Saddam and former members of his Baath Party regime on a case-by-case basis.

There are worries that the trial of Saddam, a Sunni, may exacerbate tensions between the majority Shiites who dominate the government and the minority Sunnis whose power is extremely limited in the new democracy.

But the Western diplomat said the delay in bringing charges against Saddam, who has been in custody for 19 months, emboldened the insurgency and eroded confidence in the new government.

The insurgency's resilience has been demonstrated by suicide bombings that have killed more than 240 people in the last eight days.