Istanbul blast toll rises to five

A bomb blast today killed at least five people on an Istanbul bus – only days before the Turkish city hosts a NATO summit attended by President George Bush and other world leaders.

It was the second explosion in Turkey today – the first being near an Ankara hotel where Bush is due to stay at the weekend.

The Istanbul blast, in the residential Fatih district, about five miles away from the summit area, also injured about 20 people

Two policemen were among three people injured in the Ankara explosion.

Militant Islamic, Kurdish and left wing groups have carried out past attacks in Turkey, and scores of people believed to be linked to such groups have been arrested in security sweeps in recent weeks.

Concerns about security have grown in Turkey since last November, when four suicide truck bombings killed more than 60 people in Istanbul attacks on two synagogues, the British consulate and a London-based bank.

Prosecutors say a Turkish al-Qaida-linked cell were responsible.