Two killed in Istanbul Masonic lodge blast

An explosion at a building housing a Masonic lodge killed at least two people and wounded seven others tonight in Istanbul – a city struck by four suicide bombings last year.

The cause of the explosion was not clear, although CNN-Turk television indicated that it may have been a bombing.

Ambulances and firefighters raced to the scene in residential Kartal district.

The explosion occurred at an apartment building housing a Masonic lodge.

The Masons, a secretive society that traces its roots to mediaeval craft associations, are active in predominantly Muslim but strictly secular Turkey.

Four suicide attacks against two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank killed 62 people in Istanbul last year. Prosecutors have indicted 69 people suspected of belonging to a local al-Qaida cell in the case.