Bhutto in surgery after suspected suicide bomb blast

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was wounded in a suicide attack as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi today.

Aides said the former prime minister was undergoing surgery after the blast killed at least 20 people.

Ms Bhutto had just left a gate in Rawalpindi’s Liaqat Bagh when the explosion shook the area.

She is thought to be in a serious condition, according to reports.

She had delivered a speech to thousands of supporters, part of her campaign for the January 8 parliamentary elections.

A spokesman for her party initially said that her vehicle was about 50 yards away from blast. “She had just crossed the gate when we heard a deafening sound. We could feel its impact.”

Party supporter Chaudry Mohammed Nazir said that two gunshots rang out when Bhutto’s vehicle pulled into the main street and then there was a big blast next to her car.

Police cordoned off the street with white and red tape, and rescue workers rushed to put victims in ambulances as people wailed nearby.

Body parts, pieces of clothing and party banners were scattered on the street. The clothing of some of the victims was shredded and people put party flags over their bodies. Police caps and shoes littered the area.

It was the second suicide attack aimed at Ms Bhutto in two months.

Her homecoming parade in the southern city of Karachi from an eight-year exile on October 18 was also targeted, killing more than 140 people.