Suicide bomber caused Turkish blast

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a building housing a Masonic lodge in Istanbul tonight, killing at least two people and wounding five others, Turkish police were reported as saying.

A man chanting “Allah, Allah” entered the building and detonated a bomb, according to a report on CNN-Turk.

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

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

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

One of the injured was reported to be in critical condition.

Masons are active in Turkey, which is predominantly Muslim, but strictly secular.

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.

Also, underground leftist and Kurdish groups are active in Istanbul.