Incident Summary:
12/27/2007: In Pakistan’s city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, former prime minister and then head of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Benazir Bhutto and over twenty others were killed in a suicide bombing. Bhutto, who had just finished a political rally, had the top half of her body outside her protected vehicle when a perpetrator started firing a gun at her and then proceeded to detonate an explosive device on his person. Who was behind this incident and the cause of Bhutto’s death are still in great debate. Investigators from Scotland Yard concluded that she died after hitting her head as she was tossed back from the force of the explosion. They also concluded that it was the same person who shot at Bhutto and then blew himself up. At least four people have been arrested for the incident so far. Pakistani government officials blamed Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and al-Qaida for the attack and al- Qaida spokesman, Shaykh Saeed, claimed his organization orchestrated the attack. In addition, in an email to her friend Mark Seigel about a month prior, Bhutto herself stated that she would blame Pakistani President Perez Musharraf if any type of assassination occurred against her. Also of note, on October 18, 2007, the day Bhutto arrived back in Pakistan from a long exile, there was a tremendous explosive attack, killing at least 134 people that appeared to target her.
Overview
GTD ID:
200712270001
When:
2007-12-27
Country:
Pakistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Punjab
City:
Rawalpindi
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Assassination |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Violent Political Party |
Name of Entity |
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) |
Specific Description |
Leader: Benazir Bhutto |
Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Suicide (carried bodily by human being) |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Weapon Details |
The attack began with the perpetrator using a firearm and concluded with a suicide bombing. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | Yes |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
This incident had many conflicting stories, especially regarding who was behind the killing. The Pakistani government argues that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who they said they had recorded congratulating his people for accomplishing the killing, and Al Qaeda, who had spokesman Shaykh Saeed claim responsibility. Mehsud denied that he was involved. The Scotland Yard investigators struggled to find information because the crime scene was quickly cleaned and the were denied the rights to an autopsy. Two of the men arrested were named Husnain and Rafaqat. This incident was followed by a great amount violence and unrest in the country. After the incident the Parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8th, 2008 were postponed to February 18. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Al-Qaida (suspected) |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Call (post-incident)) |
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (suspected) |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
4 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
20 Fatalities / 100 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
20 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
Total Number of Injured |
100 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
Eric Schmitt and Salman Masood, “Head Injury Killed Bhutto, Report Said to Find,” New York Times, February 8, 2007. |
“Al-Qaida Spokesman Claims Responsibility for Bhutto Killing,” Rome AKI-Adnkronos International, December 27, 2007. |
“Pakistan: Bhutto's E-Mail Says Musharraf 'Responsible' if 'Something Happened,'” Karachi ARY One World, December 31, 2007. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties