Bhutto, 54, was shot to death after a rally in Rawalpindi for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. Her attacker then blew himself up, killing at least 20 others.

The assassination Thursday of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is a major blow to the U.S. goal of stabilizing Pakistan, a volatile ally with nuclear weapons that has served as a front line against extremism since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks

The abrupt loss of a leading pro-U.S. political figure threatens the transition to democracy in Pakistan and leaves both Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Bush administration strategies vulnerable

Benazir Bhutto had been warned by President Pervez Musharraf and others not to campaign so publicly, but she remained defiant. "I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger

Pakistani officials say mass riots following the death of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have led to at least 38 deaths and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - As hundreds of thousands attended the burial of Benazir Bhutto at her family's mausoleum Friday, Pakistan blamed al-Qaida and the Taliban for the assassination and said another key opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, is also under threat of militant attack.

"We have the evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said.

The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto less than two weeks before a crucial election throws Pakistan into chaos.

Many in Bhutto's party hold President Pervez Musharraf responsible for her death because of bad security. There is suspicion that Musharraf and those loyal to him hold some culpability. Activists, lawyers and students are calling for a boycott of the elections.

Assault marks third confirmed aerial operation inside Iraq in 10 days

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish warplanes hit eight suspected Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq on Wednesday,

The warplanes struck in an "effective pinpoint operation" targeting eight caves and other hideouts being used by the separatist rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK

Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 25 Near Refinery in Northern Iraq

BAGHDAD — At least 25 people were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his truck into a line of Iraqis waiting for cooking gas near a checkpoint outside the Baiji oil refinery in northern Iraq, the police said Tuesday.

Estimates of the death toll varied. The police in Baiji and the Interior Ministry in Baghdad said 25 were killed and 80 wounded, while Col. Dara Ghafour, an Iraqi Army spokesman based in Kirkuk, put the death toll at 29.

Among the dead were children, civilians, members of Iraqi security forces and members of the American-financed armed groups known as the Awakening Council, who were in charge of the nearby checkpoint beside the huge state-owned refinery.

BAGHDAD — American soldiers raided a neighborhood in the southern Iraqi city of Kut early Thursday morning, killing 11 members of the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr,

Witnesses said that explosions, thumping helicopters and bursts of automatic-weapons fire echoed through the Kut neighborhood of Al Jameea for at least three hours as American forces fought Mahdi militiamen. At least four people were wounded during the clash

"The American helicopters shelled our neighborhood for three hours," said Jameel Muhammad, a 27-year-old construction worker. "Dead bodies were scattered here and there. Houses and cars were set on fire, and people were scared and running all over the place."

4 Sunni Allies of U.S. Killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Four members of an American-backed neighborhood watch group in Diyala Province were killed Wednesday when a house they were raiding exploded, the police said.

The blast, north of Baquba, the provincial capital, also wounded at least four people. It was one of several attacks this month against the volunteer Awakening groups and their members, who are also known as Concerned Local Citizens.

On Tuesday, several members of an Awakening group were killed by a suicide truck bomber near a checkpoint outside the Baiji oil refinery, in northern Iraq.

In new audiotape, he urges Sunnis to oppose ‘unity government’ in IraqCAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."

Bin Laden said Sunni Arabs who have joined the Awakening Councils "have betrayed the nation and brought disgrace and shame to their people. They will suffer in life and in the afterlife."

Gen. David Petraeus, said al-Qaida was becoming increasingly fearful of losing the support of Sunni Arabs and had begun targeting the leaders of the Awakening Councils.

By Jim Muir

There is general recognition that the security situation in Baghdad and some other parts of Iraq has got significantly better in the past three months or so.

In addition to the current surge of US forces, one of the major factors that is credited with helping the improvement, has been the emergence in Sunni areas, of local fighters recruited by the Americans as a kind of neighbourhood watch.

There are thought to be nearly 80,000 of them nationwide.

"People saw al-Qaeda doing terrible things. They were killing Sunnis, Shias, and Christians. There were bodies everywhere, being eaten by dogs. So we had to fight them," Abul Abed said

Iraq

There have been 4,210 coalition deaths -- 3,904 Americans, two Australians, 17 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of January 2, 2008

Afghanistan

There have been 739 coalition deaths -- 469 Americans, four Australians, 86 Britons, 74 Canadians, one Czech, nine Danes, 12 Dutch, two Estonians, one Finn, 12 French, 22 Germans, 10 Italians, three Norwegians, one Pole, two Portuguese, five Romanians, one South Korean, 23 Spaniards, two Swedes -- in the war on terror as of January 2, 2008