Two suspects confess in Bhutto killing

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Two men arrested in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto confessed in a Pakistani judicial court Wednesday to taking part in the crime, a report said.

Hasnain Gul and the other suspect identified only as Rafaqat, who were arrested recently in different parts of Pakistan, recorded their confessional statements before a magistrate in a Rawalpindi court and were later returned to jail, the Pakistan Tribune reported, quoting sources.

Former Premier Bhutto was assassinated Dec. 27 while addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi.

CNN, quoting a Pakistani interior ministry spokesman, said the two confessed to helping arm a suicide bomber, who is blamed for assassinating Bhutto.

The suspects told the judge they provided the suicide bomber with housing, transportation, a pistol, and the suicide jacket he allegedly used in the attack which killed Bhutto and 24 others, CNN reported.

A senior police investigator told the CNN Gul and Rafaqat along with the suicide bomber were part of a five-man team behind the assassination. The other two suspects reportedly are at large.

The Voice of America reported the investigation into the Bhutto killing, assisted by Britain's Scotland Yard, said the force of a suicide blast, not gunfire, killed Bhutto.