Taliban bombs rock Afghan parliament in brazen assault

Armed insurgents launched an audacious attack on the Afghan parliament Monday as it was meeting to endorse a new defense minister, forcing frightened lawmakers to flee the building. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility.

The brazen strike coincided with Taliban insurgents also capturing two districts in the north of the embattled country, witnesses said.

The attack on the highly secure, large government compound came as parliament was in session to endorse new Defense Minister Masood Stanekzai, a post that has been vacant for nine months, reports said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told the Associated Press that the audacious attack started with a suicide car bomber striking the entrance to the parliament building. Gunmen then attempted to storm the compound but were pushed back by security forces, eventually taking refuge in a nearby building under construction from which they continued to battle police.

Police killed the six Taliban gunmen involved in the attack nearly two hours after it began, the Reuters news agency reported.


Kabul Police Spokesman Ebadullah Karimi told the news agency that one Taliban fighter driving a car detonated a bomb outside parliament gates and six others took up positions in the building nearby. Afghan forces killed all six of them and all lawmakers were safe, he was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ismail Kahousi told the Associated Press that 18 civilians were wounded in the daylight attack, including two women and two children. Some were wounded by flying glass.

Windows near the parliament were shattered by the powerful explosion, residents from the area said by phone.

Smoke could be seen rising from part of the parliament building. Just down the street, hundreds of children were evacuated from a school, news reports said.

The Taliban quickly asserted responsibility on their Web site.

Television was broadcasting live from the parliament building, located on the west side of Kabul, when the attack happened. Frightened lawmakers were seen leaving the building on the live television broadcast.

“It was a huge blast that shook the building and shattered windows,” lawmaker Shukria Barekzai told the Reuters news agency.


Militant attacks in Kabul have risen in the past two months after a brief lull at the beginning of this year.

A U.S.-led war ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001, but insurgent attacks have continued since the Taliban was forced from power. Afghan forces have struggled to fight off Taliban advances since the U.S. and NATO combat forces officially ended their mission at the end of 2014.

Taliban insurgents have attacked goverment installations in Kabul in the past, but Monday’s attack appeared to be the first on the parliament building.

The Taliban have also been advancing across the country’s north, capturing two districts in the Kunduz province.

Insurgents attacked the district of Dashti Archi from four sides, setting off heavy fighting before seizing full control of the area Monday, the Associated Press reported. Sunday, they took control of the Chardara district in Kunduz.

Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi, head of the provincial council there, said some 150,000 residents were unable to leave the area, the news agency reported. He said Afghan forces suffered some casualties, but he did not provide a full count.