Bhutto dies in suicide blast

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto died Thursday after a suicide bomb and gun attack.

"At 6.16pm (9.16pm Malaysian time) she expired,'' said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.

A senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, confirmed that Bhutto had died.

According to unconfirmed reports, the attacker had opened fire on her with a weapon before the explosion.

On hearing of her death, Bhutto's supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog,'' referring to Pakistan's President.

Some of them smashed the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit, others burst into tears. One man with a flag of Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest.

Senator Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer, said, "The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred.''

At least 20 others were killed in the blast that took place as Bhutto left a political rally where she addressed thousands of supporters to canvas votes for Jan 8 parliamentary elections.

Bhutto served twice as Pakistan's Prime Minister between 1988 and 1996. She had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on Oct 18.

Her homecoming parade in Karachi was also targeted by a suicide attacker, killing more than 140 people. On that occasion she narrowly escaped injury. - AP