CHAN:
Welcome to Asia Brief, I'm Anna Chan. We begin today with disturbing news out of Pakistan. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated, in what appears to be by a Muslim extremist. Here's a rundown of what exactly happened.

Bhutto was leading a pro-election rally in the city of Rawalpindi, ahead of next month's presidential poll. After she left the rally she was shot in the chest and head by a sniper who then blew himself up It has killed 28 people and injured more than a hundred.

The 54 year-old People's Power Party leader hoped that her huge following among the poor would allow her to ascend to the head of the country for a third time.

Bhutto had spoken out strongly against Islamist violence and was repeatedly threatened by pro-Taliban militants.
She returned to Pakistan this past October after spending eight years in exile.

There was also another assassination attempt on her life back in October. A suicide bomber missed her convoy in Karachi, but still killed more than 125.