The Taliban on Monday launched an attack on the Afghan Parliament, with a suicide car bomber striking at the entrance and gunmen battling police as lawmakers were meeting inside to confirm the appointment of defence minister, police and witnesses said.
All the six gunmen who attacked Parliament were killed and the gunfire had stopped, the police said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the attack began with a car bomb explosion near the entrance. Gunmen then attempted to storm the compound but were pushed back by security forces. They took refuge in a nearby building under construction and police surrounded the structure.
Mr. Sediqqi said all the MPs inside Parliament were safe.
Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ismail Kahousi said 18 civilians, including two women and two children, were wounded.
Sidiqa Mubarez, a member of Parliament, said the building was rocked by a large explosion and some people were wounded by flying glass. She said the explosion happened shortly after Masoom Stanekzai arrived to be confirmed as defence minister. The post was vacant for nine months.
In a statement. the Taliban said they carried out the attack.
An Associated Press reporter said he heard heavy gunfire outside Parliament and saw black smoke billowing from the entrance as ambulances raced to the scene. He later heard sporadic shooting from a building where the militants were said to have holed up.
Just down the street, hundreds of children were evacuated from a school.
Taliban insurgents had launched complex attacks on government targets in the capital in the past. They have also been advancing across the country’s north, capturing two districts of the Kunduz province in as many days.
Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi, head of the provincial council, said insurgents attacked the district of Dashti Archi from four sides, setting off heavy fighting before seizing full control of the area early Monday. Local forces suffered casualties.
The Taliban confirmed that they had captured the district, as well as ammunition and four tanks, in an e-mailed statement.
The Taliban seized control of the Chardara district in Kunduz on Sunday. Insurgents attacked the provincial capital in a surprise attack in April and nearly captured the city before security forces pushed them back.
Afghan forces have struggled to fend off Taliban advances since the U.S. and NATO combat mission officially concluded at the end of last year.
