Two attackers stormed a Masonic lodge opening fire with automatic weapons and setting off explosions that killed one person and wounded five, officials said.
One of the attackers also died and one was injured in the assault late on Tuesday, which came months after four suicide bombings blamed on al-Qaeda killed dozens of people in Istanbul.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, said provincial Governor Muammer Guler.
"Two assailants shot the guard in his feet and raked the restaurant of the lodge with gunfire, then detonated bombs," Guler said. "One terrorist and one waiter were killed, the second terrorist is injured with his arm ripped off and his guts spilled out."
Police said the attackers strapped between eight and 10 homemade pipe bombs to their vests. One of the attackers blew himself up before entering the restaurant where about 40 people were dining, Guler said.
"Only those sitting at the front table were injured since the explosion occurred at the entrance of the restaurant," he said.
Yakup Yildirim, who rushed the scene to help the injured, said survivors told him that one of the attackers chanted Allahu Akbar (God is great) before he detonated the bomb -- which could indicate the attack was the responsibility of radical Islamic militants.
"Everyone was panicking, everyone was asking where their friends were," Yildirim said.
The severely injured attacker could be seen angrily chanting slogans as he was taken to hospital. He identified himself as Abdullah Islam, but Guler said police was still investigating whether it was his real name.
Police cordoned off the area in the residential Kartal district as ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene.
At least one person was reported in critical condition, doctors said.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS