One dead in Ankara café blast

An explosion rocked a cafe in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara early today, killing one person and injuring another.

Police were investigating the cause of the blast, which shattered windows and damaged walls at the multi-storey Crocodile Cafe.

“Our colleagues are carrying out inspections,” said Ankara police chief Ercument Yilmaz at the scene.

He refused to say if a bomb had caused the explosion.

The explosion comes a month after a bomb exploded at a McDonald’s restaurant in Istanbul, causing damage but no injuries.

Radical left wing, Kurdish and Islamic groups are active in Turkey and have carried out bombings in the past.

Police recovered a woman’s body from a toilet at the cafe, where they believe the explosion happened.

Local media suggested the woman was a suicide bomber, or that she may have died when a bomb she was planting exploded prematurely.

Police and interior ministry officials refused to confirm the reports.

It was not clear how many people were in the cafe at the time of the blast.