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RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto was assassinated Thursday outside a large gathering of her
supporters where a suicide bomber also killed at least 14 of her
supporters, doctors and a spokesman for her party said.
While Bhutto appeared to have died from bullet wounds, it was not
immediately clear if she was shot or if her wounds were caused by bomb
shrapnel.
Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected
rioting to break out in city streets as a shocked Pakistan absorbed the
news of Bhutto's assassination.
Video of the scene just moments
before the explosion showed Bhutto stepping into a heavily-guarded
vehicle to leave the rally. Video Watch aftermath of the attack. »
Police sources told CNN the bomber, who was riding a motorcycle, blew himself up near Bhutto's vehicle.
Bhutto
was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital -- less than two miles from
the bombing scene -- where doctors pronounced her dead.
Former
Pakistan government spokesman Tariq Azim Khan said while it appeared
Bhutto was shot, it was unclear if the bullet wounds to her head and
neck were caused by a shooting or if it was shrapnel from the bomb.
Bhutto's husband issued a statement from his home in Dubai saying, "All I can say is we're devastated, it's a total shock."
The
number of wounded was not immediately known. However, video of the
scene showed ambulances lined up to take many to hospitals.
The
attack came just hours after four supporters of former Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party
opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Thursday,
Pakistan police said.
Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police said.
Bhutto,
who led Paksitan from 1988 to 1990 and was the first female prime
minister of any Islamic nation, was participating in the parliamentary
election set for January 8, hoping for a third term.
A terror
attack targeting her motorcade in Karachi killed 136 people on the day
she returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile. View
timeline. »
CNN's Mohsin Naqvi, who was at the scene of both bombings, said Thursday's blast was not as powerful as that October attack.
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Thursday's
attacks come less than two weeks after Pakistan President Pervez
Musharraf lifted an emergency declaration he said was necessary to
secure his country from terrorists.
Bhutto had been critical of what she believed was a lack of effort by Musharraf's government to protect her.
CNN's Mohsin Naqvi contributes to this report
Bhutto was assassinated Thursday outside a large gathering of her
supporters where a suicide bomber also killed at least 14 of her
supporters, doctors and a spokesman for her party said.
While Bhutto appeared to have died from bullet wounds, it was not
immediately clear if she was shot or if her wounds were caused by bomb
shrapnel.
Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected
rioting to break out in city streets as a shocked Pakistan absorbed the
news of Bhutto's assassination.
Video of the scene just moments
before the explosion showed Bhutto stepping into a heavily-guarded
vehicle to leave the rally. Video Watch aftermath of the attack. »
Police sources told CNN the bomber, who was riding a motorcycle, blew himself up near Bhutto's vehicle.
Bhutto
was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital -- less than two miles from
the bombing scene -- where doctors pronounced her dead.
Former
Pakistan government spokesman Tariq Azim Khan said while it appeared
Bhutto was shot, it was unclear if the bullet wounds to her head and
neck were caused by a shooting or if it was shrapnel from the bomb.
Bhutto's husband issued a statement from his home in Dubai saying, "All I can say is we're devastated, it's a total shock."
The
number of wounded was not immediately known. However, video of the
scene showed ambulances lined up to take many to hospitals.
The
attack came just hours after four supporters of former Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party
opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Thursday,
Pakistan police said.
Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police said.
Bhutto,
who led Paksitan from 1988 to 1990 and was the first female prime
minister of any Islamic nation, was participating in the parliamentary
election set for January 8, hoping for a third term.
A terror
attack targeting her motorcade in Karachi killed 136 people on the day
she returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile. View
timeline. »
CNN's Mohsin Naqvi, who was at the scene of both bombings, said Thursday's blast was not as powerful as that October attack.
advertisement
Thursday's
attacks come less than two weeks after Pakistan President Pervez
Musharraf lifted an emergency declaration he said was necessary to
secure his country from terrorists.
Bhutto had been critical of what she believed was a lack of effort by Musharraf's government to protect her.
CNN's Mohsin Naqvi contributes to this report
, anyways do any of you think that she got what she deserved?
