[Infowarrior] - Bhutto Killed at Political Rally

[Richard Forno]

Bhutto Killed at Political Rally

By Griff Witte and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 27, 2007; 8:49 AM

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec. 27 -- Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir
Bhutto was assassinated Thursday at a political rally, two months after she
returned from eight years of exile to attempt a political comeback,
officials said.

Bhutto was shot at close range as she was leaving the rally in this garrison
city south of Islamabad, aides said. Immediately after the shooting, a
suicide bomber detonated explosives near Bhutto's car, killing at least 15
other people.

Bhutto was rushed to a hospital with extensive wounds to her torso, her
supporters said. Shortly after she arrived at the hospital, an official came
out of the building and told a crowd of supporters Bhutto was dead.

Also Thursday, a rooftop sniper opened fire on supporters of former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif at a different pre-election rally in Rawalpindi,
leaving four dead and at least five injured.

Bhutto's death is a devastating development, coming 12 days before
Pakistanis are set to vote in national parliamentary elections already
marked by enormous political turmoil. President Pervez Musharraf declared a
state of emergency in November -- a move which he said was to combat
terrorism, but which was widely perceived as an effort to stave off legal
challenges to his authority. U.S. military officials said last week that the
terrorist group al-Qaeda increasingly is focusing its efforts in Pakistan.

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