British detectives probing the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday visited two hospitals and recorded the statements of injured police officers and others.

The Scotland Yard police are helping Pakistani investigators in the probe into Bhutto's assassination on Dec. 27 in the eastern Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, some 30 kms south of the capital Islamabad.

More than 20 other people were also killed and dozens injured in the suicide attack on Bhutto.

The five-member British police team first visited the Combined Military Hospital and recorded the statement of a police officer Eshtiaq Shah, who was injured in the attack.

They also met nine other injured who are under treatment in the military hospital, according to local press reports.

The team later visited the district hospital and recorded the statement of medical superintendent Khalid Malik and also got information about the postmortem of those killed. The team was told that most of the relatives did not request for detailed postmortem and their bodies had been handed over after brief postmortem.

The British police visited the mortuary of the hospital and examined the body parts of the suicide bomber and made some snap shots.

They also took photographs of the seven wounded and recorded their statements about the whole incident.

The investigating team, led by David Keith, was briefed by Medical Superintendent Dr. Khalid Malik about the injured people who were treated at the facility after the tragic happening.

Malik told the team that out of some 82 people brought to the hospital, 52 were admitted and the rest were discharged. Only five were still under treatment at the hospital.

There was tight security in the District Headquarter Hospital during the visit of the British police team.