Suspect in Bhutto killing identifies bomber

A teenaged boy, arrested for the alleged involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has identified the suicide bomber who blew himself up near her armoured car in Rawalpindi last month, a Pakistani official said.

Fifteen-year-old Aitezaz Shah, who was arrested from Dera Ismail Khan town of the North West Frontier Province, identified the bomber as a man named Bilal who belonged to the South Waziristan tribal region, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said.

Bhutto died in a gun-and-bomb attack after she had addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. Shah told the police he was part of a five-member suicide squad sent by Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud to kill Bhutto.

Aitezaz Shah and his accomplice Sher Zaman, who was also arrested in Dera Ismail Khan, were brought to Rawalpindi, and a court remanded them to police custody till February 1.

Police also found materials used to make suicide jackets at Zaman's residence.

Interior Secretary Shah told The Daily Times that the teenaged boy had identified the suicide bomber during his interrogation by the joint investigation team probing Bhutto's assassination. Investigators are verifying the information with Bilal's family and official records in South Waziristan, Shah said.

Shah also said the teenager had told his interrogators that he had been meeting Baitullah Mehsud but this "claim was yet to be verified." Zaman has not revealed anything so far, Shah said.