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Bomb blast at Istanbul cafe injures 2: police blame Kurds
Updated at 19:09 on July 23, 2005, EST.
http://www3.cjad.com/content/cp_article.asp?id=/global_feeds/CanadianPress/WorldNews/w072353A.htm

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - A bomb blast at an Istanbul cafe late Saturday night injured at least two people, police said.

The blast, which police said was caused by either a remote-controlled bomb or a bomb on a timer, took place at a cafe at the bottom of the Galata bridge, a popular area for tourists and Turks to go for fish dinners.

A Dutch citizen and a Turk who worked at the cafe were injured, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported. Police at the site earlier said three people were injured but a police official later said only two were injured. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

An official also said police suspected Kurdish guerrillas were behind the attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mashar Adanas, a vendor selling grilled fish sandwiches about 100 metres away from the cafe, said he felt a violent explosion and then saw people running out of the cafe shouting "bomb, bomb."

Mustafa Bulut, who was selling corn from a cart near the blast, said he also saw people running from the cafe.

"I turned around right away and everyone was running. Everyone panicked," Bulut said.

Police in white outfits could be seen searching the area near the blast with flashlights for evidence as other police kept onlookers away from the site.

Last Saturday, a bomb placed under a seat of a minibus in a popular Turkish Aegean beach resort killed five people, including an Irish teenager and a British woman.

No group has claimed responsibility for that blast but suspicion also fell on Kurdish guerrillas.