Pakistan bombers sentenced to death

Rizwan Bashir's family were distraught at the verdict

Three men have been sentenced to death for their part in a suicide car bomb attack which killed 11 French naval engineers in Pakistan in 2002.

Two of the men - Asif Zaheer and Rizwan Bashir - denied any involvement in the attack, saying the evidence against them had been fabricated.

A third man - Mohammad Sohail was sentenced in absentia.

The engineers were helping to build a French submarine for the Pakistani navy at the time of the attack.

'Satisfied'

They were killed last May when the bus they were in was rammed by a car stuffed with explosives, just outside their hotel in central Karachi.

The suicide bomber and two Pakistani civilians were also killed.

Judge Mahmood Bhatti, told the court: "I am satisfied with the verdict. There was incriminating evidence against the two men."

However, defence lawyer MR Syed was concerned about the verdict.

"It was a fit case for acquittal," he said. "There were flaws in the prosecution's witnesses."

The bombing was one of a series of deadly attacks against westerners after the American-led military campaign against the Taleban in Afghanistan in 2001.

Last June, 12 people died in an attack on the US consulate in Karachi and in February this year two policemen were killed in a gun attack outside the same building.

Three other people accused of helping plan the car bomb attack are still being sought.

Police say Asif Zaheer and Rizwan Bashir belong to the militant organisations Harkat-e-Jihad-e-Islami and Harkat-ul Mujahideen respectively.

Both organisations have been banned by the government.

The French engineers were naval technicians helping the Pakistani Navy to build its second Agosta 90-B submarine.