A bomb exploded in a cafe in the Turkish capital, Ankara, today, killing a woman and injuring another person, and police were investigating whether it was a suicide attack, authorities said.
"One person was killed after a bomb exploded," Ankara state prosecutor Ahmet Mutlu said after visiting the scene. Asked if police suspected it was a suicide attack, Mutlu said: "It is being investigated."
The blast, which happened after 6 a.m., rocked the three-storey cafe frequented by students in the city's main commercial district, Kizilay. Twisted metal, glass and wood were scattered on a walkway next to a busy street.
Witnesses said a young woman was seen entering a toilet where the blast is believed to have occurred. Only a few customers were in the cafe at the time of the blast, they said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Police officials in Ankara said authorities were investigating if the blast was a suicide attack, but had not ruled out the bomb being accidentally detonated.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding the cafe while bomb squad units sifted through rubble on the cafe's third storey, part of a larger building.
Witnesses saw police retrieving body parts. Medical investigators identified the victim as a woman, aged between 30 and 35 years old, state news agency Anatolian said.
"I heard a loud explosion at about 9 a.m. and came rushing over. I saw body parts including a hand on the ground," a local shopkeeper said.