Suicide attackers blast Turkey cafe

Two attackers stormed a Masonic lodge in Istanbul last night, opening fire with automatic weapons and setting off blasts that killed one of the assailants and a waiter, and left five people injured.

The second attacker was injured in the assault, which came months after four suicide bombings blamed on al-Qaida killed dozens of people in Istanbul. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, provincial Governor Muammer Guler said. "Two assailants shot the guard in his feet and raked the restaurant of the lodge with gunfire, then detonated bombs," Mr Guler said.

"One terrorist and one waiter were killed, the second terrorist is injured with his arm ripped off and his guts spilled out."

Police said the attackers strapped between eight and 10 homemade pipe bombs to their vests, inform &to=http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au' target=_blank>Heraldsun.news.com.au

NTV television said police blamed the attack on a suicide bomber.

CNN-Turk said a man chanting "Allah, Allah" entered the building and detonated a bomb.

Authorities evacuated the building in case a second explosive was inside.

Officials sent ambulances and firefighters to the scene in the residential Kartal district, the Anatolia news agency said. One of the injured was reported in critical condition, television reports said.

The Masons, a secretive society that traces its roots to medieval craft associations, are active in this predominantly Muslim but strictly secular country, reports &to=http://www.canada.com' target=_blank>Canada.com