UK Probe: Blast Killed Bhutto

She died from head injury caused by blast, says Scotland Yard
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 8, 2008 6:18 AM CST
UK Probe: Blast Killed Bhutto
Slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. British detectives say she died as a result of head injuries and was not shot.(AP Photo/Shakil Adil, File)   (Associated Press)

Scotland Yard detectives investigating the assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have concluded that the cause of death was not a bullet, but the massive head injury she sustained when she was thrown by the suicide bomb blast. The findings mesh with the Pakistan government's version of the killing and were immediately rejected by skeptical Bhutto supporters, who renewed calls for a UN investigation, reports the Guardian.

The pathologist ruled out a bullet to the neck or upper body as relevant in her death, in light of  the severe head injury, "due to head impact somewhere in the escape hatch of the vehicle."  The investigation, which had access to X-rays of her skull and extensive videotapes but not an autopsy, also concluded that a single gunman, whose picture was captured at the scene, caused the explosion. Pakistan authorities have now arrested a total of four suspects in connection with the assassination. One is thought to be the brother of the suicide bomber. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)

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