Over a Hundred Dead in Pakistan Bombing

Two bombs exploded Thursday night killing scores of people, just seconds apart and feet from a truck carrying the returning opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, narrowly missing her.

Various reports said up to 126 were killed and some 150 were wounded, including civilians and party workers. In the initial chaos, however, the Interior Ministry could only confirm 70 deaths.

Ms. Bhutto, who spent eight hours on the roof of the truck waving to supporters, had climbed inside the armored vehicle just before midnight, and 10 minutes before the blast occurred, said Rehman Malik, Ms. Bhutto's security adviser and close associate.

Caught on camera, the explosions gave off brilliant white flashes and set two cars ablaze. Survivors stumbled over bodies and debris in a haze of smoke. It was not immediately clear if suicide bombers caused the explosions.

"I can only say that I saw heaps of bodies lying over there," her adviser, Mr. Malik, said. He was standing at the front of the truck and was knocked down by the force of the blast. His hair was burnt.

"The damage could have been much worse had we not taken our own security arrangements," he added.

The government promised before Ms. Bhutto's arrival to provide security. It also asked her to delay returning. But Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party fielded 2,000 of its own workers to form rings around their returning leader, guarding her with their numbers and preventing any vehicles or people from approaching.