Al-Qaida 'claim responsibility for Bhutto murder'

Islamist websites are reporting that al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the FBI said today, as rioting spread across Pakistan and hopes for democracy hung by a thread.

An FBI and Homeland Security bulletin to US law enforcement agencies, summarised by an unnamed official, said Osama bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri had planned yesterday’s murder of Pakistan’s outspoken opposition leader.