KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has called the deadly terror strike on her convoy "an attack on democracy" and vowed it would not deter her political campaign or her fight for human rights.
She returned to Pakistan on Thursday after a self-imposed, eight-year exile.
"What does the attack last night signify? The attack was more an attack on the unity and integrity of the country than on any individual or any one political party," Bhutto said at a news conference on Friday, a day after the terror attack that killed 136 people.
"It was an attack on Pakistan itself. It was an attack on their political rights, on the political process and on democracy itself. The attack last night was a message sent by the enemies of democracy to all the political parties of the country.
"It was intended to intimidate and blackmail all the political forces and elements working for democracy and human rights in the country. It was a warning not only to me and the PPP (People's Political Party) but to all political parties -- indeed, to the entire civil society."
After the blast, police retrieved the head of a possible suspect, which was being analyzed at a forensics lab.
Police said they were due to release a sketch soon and are offering about $83,000 (5 million rupees) for information leading to possible arrests.
Bhutto was traveling from the airport after returning to Pakistan when the bomber struck her convoy late Thursday. She and others in her group were unhurt.
A defiant Bhutto on Friday said she did not blame the government for the attack, but complained of poor security preparations. The former prime minister blamed extremists who oppose her support for Pakistan's Western allies.
No one has claimed responsibility, and police have named no possible suspects or groups.
However, U.S. State Department officials, quoting the Pakistanis, told CNN Friday they believe there is a "strong al Qaeda connection" to the attacks. The officials said U.S. agents are helping Pakistan in the investigation.
One senior department official said the attack "bears the hallmarks" of an al Qaeda attack, and noted the group has threatened Bhutto before.
The Pakistanis have told U.S. officials that they were aware of three or four al Qaeda-related cells seeking to undertake an attack on Bhutto's return. The attack, officials said, is frightening because it shows how much freedom al Qaeda has to move around in Pakistan.
Bhutto said she thought she heard shots fired after the explosions, but police haven't confirmed that. She said she initially thought the blasts were fireworks.
Authorities believe the suicide bomber was on foot and threw a grenade to attract attention before setting off the second, major blast, Karachi's police chief, Azhar Farooqi, told CNN on Thursday. Pakistan's dangerous politics »
The bomber is believed to have acted alone. Police do not think a car bomb was involved, although nearby cars were burned, he said.
Bhutto said streetlights on the route weren't working, which hindered security guards. Authorities have promised to look into that claim.
"The Pakistan People's Party strongly condemns the attack on a peaceful procession last night," she said in a news conference Friday, referring to the political party she represents.
"Our calm prayers and sympathies are to those who laid down their lives or were wounded and to their families. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of democracy."
Bhutto said she intends to continue her political campaign for prime minister, despite the potential dangers.
Bhutto said police had offered to let her use a helicopter for her trip from the airport, warning her of the dangers of riding in the streets, but she told them she wanted to be near the people. She said she has no regrets.
Her return home was made possible by Pakistan's embattled president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who earlier this month agreed to drop outstanding corruption charges against her and a number of other politicians as part of his own bid to stay in power.
Bhutto said Friday she is continuing to negotiate with Musharraf to promote democracy in a possible power-sharing deal. There is a parliamentary election in January in which Bhutto hopes to win a third term as prime minister.
In an interview Wednesday in Dubai with CNN correspondent Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Bhutto said she planned to write Musharraf a letter informing him that there were people who wanted to kill her. She revealed no names.
"I am aware of the threats for my security, and this has been discussed with General Pervez Musharraf. I am also writing him a letter and I am mentioning the hands, the hidden hands who will be responsible if any untoward action happens.
"Because I believe that there are certain people who have gained a lot through dictatorship. They have presided over the rise of extremism, they have created safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan for the Taliban and other militants, and they fear my return.
"And I am concerned that these individuals who occupy high positions in the administration will use their administrative positions to create an incident."
"I feel it is best if these people do not want to be held responsible that they should step aside for the next three months to assure that there is no controversy regarding their rule," she said she told the leader.
Bhutto said she has received messages of support and sympathy from around the world, which she appreciates.
"I see the attack not as an attack on an individual. The attack was not on me. The attack was on what I represent. It was an attack on democracy, and it was an attack on the very unity and integrity of Pakistan," Bhutto said Friday.
"This was dastardly and cowardly attack," she said. "It is against our religion to kill innocent people."
Bhutto, who apparently had moved from the roof of the truck to the inside just moments before the blasts, told reporters, "There was blood and gore all over our clothes ... Streets were littered with bodies and glass."
"A moment that was the people's triumph ended in tragedy," she added.
Bhutto thanked those who met her at the airport earlier Thursday, and stuck with the motorcade. She described them as people who "came and voted with their feet to show the world that this great land of ours is not a land of terrorists, it is not a land of extremists."
Instability in Pakistan could affect other regional nuclear powers, including China and India "Apart from the hands involved in planting/detonating explosives close to Ms. Benazir Bhutto's vehicle, the investigators must expose the elements whose traditional hostility to democracy is known, and who could not bear even a rare sight of democratic festivity," said Iqbal Haider, secretary-general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
"The present regime's incapacity to deal with terrorism needs no further proof, and while there is no need to avoid elections, the present (situation) demands the greatest possible unity among the people and immediate formation of a national government capable of fighting terrorism without depriving the people of democratic governance and the enjoyment of human rights."
CNN correspondent Dan Rivers said Bhutto in her speech Friday listed three other groups, in addition to the Taliban in Pakistan, that she believed posed the most danger to her and her cause: al Qaeda, the Taliban in Afghanistan and a suicide team from Karachi that she did not describe.
A video released in September by al Qaeda declared war on the "apostate" Pakistani army, and officials said that was aimed at intimidating moderates and driving a wedge between Musharraf and Bhutto on one side, and extremists who support al Qaeda on the other.
The United States hopes the attack will cause Bhutto and Musharraf, who has been the target of several assassination attempts, to join forces against a common enemy.
According to one official, "We hope Musharraf will say to Bhutto, 'They tried to kill me, too. Welcome to the club, and let's work together to get them
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