Scotland Yard: Bhutto Died From Blast

Investigators Uphold Pakistan's Claim That Opposition Leader Did Not Die From Gunshots

(CBS/AP)  Scotland Yard investigators on Friday upheld Pakistani government findings that opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bombing, dismissing her party's claim that the former prime minister died from gunshots moments earlier.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party immediately rejected the British findings and repeated its demand for a U.N. investigation into the Dec. 27 assassination. Party leaders want a broader, independent investigation because of their suspicions that political allies of President Pervez Musharraf may have been involved.

The outcome of the investigation was likely to further sharpen the divide between Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Musharraf’s government. The PPP insists Bhutto was killed by the twin effect of a gunshot wound and the shock of the suicide blast close to her jeep, just as she was leaving a political rally in Rawalpindi, reports CBS News reporter Farhan Bokhari.

The death of the two-time prime minister sparked violent unrest across the country and forced a six-week delay in parliamentary elections, now set for Feb. 18. The continuing dispute over exactly how she died is likely to prolong Pakistan's political turmoil.

In a report released Friday by British authorities in Islamabad, Home Office pathologist Dr. Nathaniel Cary said Bhutto suffered a massive injury on the right side of her head. Cary said the "only tenable cause" was the impact of the blast that went off as she waved to supporters from the hatch of her vehicle after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi.

"In my opinion Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto died as a result of a severe head injury sustained as a consequence of the bomb blast and due to head impact somewhere in the escape hatch of the vehicle," Cary said in the report.

The finding supports the Pakistani government's contention that Bhutto suffered a fatal head wound when she hit her head after the blast. Opponents of Musharraf, many of whom suspect a broad conspiracy, have been highly skeptical of that theory, which is seen as minimizing the government's responsibility for a security breach that allowed the gunman to get close to Bhutto.

The Scotland Yard report concluded there had been a single attacker: that the man who had fired the shots at close range toward Bhutto had also blown himself up. There had been earlier suggestions that a separate bomber had lurked behind the gunman.

"In essence, all the evidence indicates that one suspect has fired the shots before detonating an improvised explosive device," the report said. It said the bomber was within one or two meters of Bhutto's vehicle with no obstruction or person in between.

Controversy has surrounded the investigation - mainly over the cleaning of the crime scene by municipal workers within hours of the assassination - an act that effectively destroyed important evidence, reports Bokhari.

Pakistan's government has said the attack was orchestrated by a top Taliban militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud, who has links to al Qaeda.

Mehsud leads Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a coalition of Islamic extremist groups fighting Pakistani forces in the lawless tribal area along the border with Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Mehsud's coalition announced an indefinite cease-fire with Pakistani forces.

Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas confirmed Friday that there had been a lull in fighting in South Waziristan over the past 72 hours, although the military did not formally recognize any cease-fire.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Pakistan on Friday and was expected to discuss the security situation with senior Pakistani officials.

Many Pakistanis reacted to the government finding in Bhutto's death with skepticism since the bomb site was hosed down within hours of the attack and the conclusions were announced with haste.

"We disagree with the finding on the cause of the death," said Sherry Rehman, spokeswoman for the Pakistan People's Party, who escorted Bhutto to the hospital after the attack. "She died from a bullet injury. This was and is our position."

Musharraf has rejected the call for a U.N. probe but invited Scotland Yard to help establish the cause of death. After a 2 1/2 week investigation, a summary of its findings was issued by the British High Commission in Islamabad.

The Scotland Yard report said that despite the lack of a detailed search of the crime scene or autopsy of Bhutto's body, "the evidence that is available is sufficient for reliable conclusions to be drawn." Investigators relied considerably on X-rays and detailed examination of videos of the attack, it said.

It was unclear whether the Scotland Yard report would quiet the wave of rumor and speculation among Pakistanis. Nonetheless, Pakistani police welcomed the findings.

Senior police official Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, who is heading Pakistan's own investigation, said it agreed with the Scotland Yard findings, adding that the attacker fired at Bhutto but missed.

Majeed confirmed that police had arrested two "important" suspects in the killing based on information from a 15-year-old boy apprehended last month in northwestern Pakistan. The boy told police he was part of a five-man suicide squad charged with assassinating Bhutto.

The two suspects, identified only as Husnain Gul and Rafaqat, appeared in court Friday and were ordered held for 12 more days. Majeed said they appeared to have provided help to the bomber.

[slpdisk]

She told Daivd Frost on BBC that Osama Bin Laden was dead and paid for it with her life. Parties invested in war can''t have somebody revealing the truth. They would have to fabricate a new boogey-man. R.I.P.Benazir

[incog-nito]

OK, can somebody explain why does it matter if she died from the gunshot or from the blast? What difference does it make? It''s from the SAME attack, by the SAME group of people, and the end result is the SAME: She''s dead.

[walt1944-2009]

Scotland Yard has determined that Benazir Bhutto died from an explosion rather than from anything else and agreeing with the findings of the Pakistani Government.

It is, however, rumored that Bhutto did not die after all, that the entire thing was "smoke and mirrors" provided by the Great Emperor Bush II and that she has been "spirited" off this planet by Klingons aboard a "cloaked" space ship where she will join Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, and Elvis!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!

[killtheliars]

the more that England and the U.S. try and support Musharraf the more I see a coverup and conspiracy by all three parties

[bigsk8fan]

i have a bit more respect for the conclusions because they come from scotland yard.

unfortunately our own fbi has been tainted by the flaws in its own crime lab which drew experiments to come to the desired conclusions. rather than draw the actual factual conclusions.

[thgdriver]

You all remember the film Casablanca. When Claude Rains Character, at the airport, says to the responding police he commands---" Major Strasser has been shot! Round up the "Usual suspects"! He says this after watching Bogart''''s character, Rick, shoot Strasser.

This is the same crapp only it''''s for real. Musharraf is quite the actor! He could star in the remake. LOL

[excoachken]

newster1: Perhaps you will care when the Taliban get control of Nuclear weapons as a result. Exact cause will prove who killed her, which is the basis of our having troops in harms way in that country. Perhaps, now you can understand the importance, or maybe your more concerned with Brittany''s escapades.

[nothappyatall]

WHO GIVES A RAT''s FAT AZZ whether it was the bomb, whacking her head on on the vehicle, or the bullets that did the deed???? the fact remains she is DEAD, killed by one or both, time to stop obsessing on the exact cause, the cause was a suicide bomber and her stupidity.