'Large-scale attack' against ex-Prime Minister Bhutto leaves more than 100 dead in Pakistan
{{date|October 18, 2007}}
[[Image:Benazir Bhutto.jpg|thumb|[[w:Benazir Bhutto|Benazir Bhutto]] at a 2004 dinner<br /><small>Photo credit: [[w:User:IFaqeer|Sabahat Ashraf]]</small>]]
Former [[Pakistan]]i Prime Minister [[w:Benazir Bhutto|Benazir Bhutto]] was the target of a bombing which killed at least 136 people Thursday night, hours after landing at [[w:Karachi Airport|Karachi Airport]]. 

Bhutto's arrival in the country with more than 100 supporters, breaking eight years of self-imposed exile, was met by more than 20,000 police and military troops.  Security was tight, after a warning that militants could attempt to assassinate the former leader. 

Bhutto is disliked by many traditionalist Pakistanis who consider her rule to have brought the country too close to the [[United States]]. Bhutto had told reporters she was "not scared" and was concentrating on her mission, only hours before the attack.

Bhutto, who was traveling from the airport to a rally atop an armoured truck, was unharmed and taken back to her ancestral home of Bilawal House by police and security forces. At least 20 police were killed in the bombing.

Sources indicate there may have been multiple explosions, with a smaller blast preceding the main one, in what CNN's [[w:Dan Rivers|Dan Rivers]] described as a "large-scale attack". Two other men were taken into custody following the attacks, one carrying a belt of explosives and another carrying a pistol.

Pakistani Minister of Information [[w:Tariq Azim Khan|Tariq Azim Khan]] has stated that the attack, which injured another 150 people, was believed to be a suicide bombing. Manzur Mughal, a Karachi police officer, reported that a skull believed to belong to one of the bombers had been found, and taken to a forensics lab.

Bhutto was in the country, having been waived of any corruption charges by President [[Pervez Musharraf]] last week, to discuss the possibility of a joint government dedicated to fighting extremism in the volatile country. Bhutto had told reporters that she did not want the country associated with the training of terrorists.

{{haveyoursay}}
== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/18/pakistan.explosions/index.html
|title= 93 dead in blasts near Bhutto's convoy in Pakistan
|author=
|pub=CNN
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/10/bhutto-survives.html
|title=Bhutto Survives Double-Bombing; Dozens Dead
|author=Noah Shachtman
|pub=Wired News
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/asia/18cnd-pakistan.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
|title=More Than 100 Dead in Pakistan Blasts
|author=Carlotta Gall and Salman Masood
|pub=New York Times
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-18-voa61.cfm
|title=Blasts Aimed at Bhutto Kill 45 in Karachi; Many Wounded
|author=
|pub=Voice of America
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7051804.stm
|title=Bhutto convoy bombs kill dozens
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=95233
|title=Thousands to greet Bhutto despite Al-Qaeda threat
|pub=Inquirer.net
|date=October 18, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/18/wpak418.xml
|title=Twin bombs strike at Benazir Bhutto's parade
|pub=Daily Telegraph
|date=October 18, 2007}}

{{Publish}}
{{archived}}

[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Benazir Bhutto]]
[[Category:Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sindh]]
[[Category:Karachi]]

{{DEFAULTSORTKEY:Large-scale attack' against ex-Prime Minister Bhutto leaves more than 100 dead in Pakistan
}}

[[de:Benazir Bhutto kehrte nach acht Jahren zurück nach Pakistan]]
[[es:Ataque contra la ex-Primer Ministro Bhutto deja más de 100 muertos en Pakistán]]
[[it:Pakistan: kamikaze contro la Bhutto, oltre cento morti]]
[[pt:Benazir Bhutto sai ilesa de atentado no Paquistão]]
Benazir Bhutto at a 2004 dinnerPhoto credit: Sabahat Ashraf
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was the target of a bombing which killed at least 136 people Thursday night, hours after landing at Karachi Airport. 

Bhutto's arrival in the country with more than 100 supporters, breaking eight years of self-imposed exile, was met by more than 20,000 police and military troops.  Security was tight, after a warning that militants could attempt to assassinate the former leader. 

Bhutto is disliked by many traditionalist Pakistanis who consider her rule to have brought the country too close to the United States. Bhutto had told reporters she was "not scared" and was concentrating on her mission, only hours before the attack.

Bhutto, who was traveling from the airport to a rally atop an armoured truck, was unharmed and taken back to her ancestral home of Bilawal House by police and security forces. At least 20 police were killed in the bombing.

Sources indicate there may have been multiple explosions, with a smaller blast preceding the main one, in what CNN's Dan Rivers described as a "large-scale attack". Two other men were taken into custody following the attacks, one carrying a belt of explosives and another carrying a pistol.

Pakistani Minister of Information Tariq Azim Khan has stated that the attack, which injured another 150 people, was believed to be a suicide bombing. Manzur Mughal, a Karachi police officer, reported that a skull believed to belong to one of the bombers had been found, and taken to a forensics lab.

Bhutto was in the country, having been waived of any corruption charges by President Pervez Musharraf last week, to discuss the possibility of a joint government dedicated to fighting extremism in the volatile country. Bhutto had told reporters that she did not want the country associated with the training of terrorists.


de:Benazir Bhutto kehrte nach acht Jahren zurück nach Pakistan
es:Ataque contra la ex-Primer Ministro Bhutto deja más de 100 muertos en Pakistán
it:Pakistan: kamikaze contro la Bhutto, oltre cento morti
Benazir Bhutto sai ilesa de atentado no Paquistão
Politics and conflicts Asia Benazir Bhutto Pakistan Sindh Karachi