Former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated, reports the BBC and everyone else.

Ms Bhutto had just addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi when she was shot in the neck by a gunman who then set off a bomb.

At least 15 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.

Her career has been mired in charges of corruption, and counter-claims that the accusations were politically motivated. But it was still an outstanding career, which saw Bhutto become the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. Earlier this year, she was named second most influential woman in the world - trumped only by Hillary Clinton, notes The Hindu.

A profile on the BBC tells how Bhutto came from a political dynasty (her father was executed in 1979 following a military coup).

Posted by Jess McCabe on 27 December 2007, at 4:12 PM