Three-minute casino robbery

Masked men brandishing assault rifles burst into a crowded French casino early today, fired shots at the ceiling and made off with about 28,000 euro, police and the casino said.

Police said it took only three minutes for the thieves to carry out their operation at Le Pharaon casino in the central city of Lyon - and just down the road from the headquarters of Interpol, the international police agency.

Four masked men wearing white and carrying Kalashnikov rifles burst into the casino and fired two shots into the ceiling, said Michel Neyret of Lyon's police. The men used an angle grinder to break into the cashiers' area. Another man waited outside. All five fled in a black BMW.

Two security guards suffered minor injuries and none of the 200 gamblers inside was hurt, Neyret said.

The casino's director, Guy Benhamou, said his accountants believed the thieves made off with about 28,000 euro.