BENAZIR BHUTTO ASSASSINATED

27 Dec 2007, 1830 hrs IST, PTI
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead on Thursday when gunmen opened fire at her vehicle just before a suicide bomber blew himself up at a election rally addressed by her in Rawalpindi, killing more than 20 people and injuring several others. Reports said that five bullets were fired, one of which pierced her neck. The 54-year-old leader of Pakistan People's Party was rushed to Rawalpindi general hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Rahman Malik, the PPP chairperson's security advisor, said some persons fired at Bhutto's vehicle before the suicide attacker blew himself up. "At 6:16 pm, she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a PPP member, who was at the hospital, said. - AP