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Taliban attack on Afghan parliament in Kabul ends | Taliban attack on Afghan parliament in Kabul ends |
(35 minutes later) | |
A co-ordinated Taliban attack on the Afghan parliament in Kabul has ended with all six gunmen killed, the interior ministry says. | A co-ordinated Taliban attack on the Afghan parliament in Kabul has ended with all six gunmen killed, the interior ministry says. |
Attackers detonated a huge car bomb outside the gates, before racing into a building next to the chamber. | |
Police evacuated the premises, while trying to fight the gunmen off. | Police evacuated the premises, while trying to fight the gunmen off. |
The Taliban say they carried out the attack to coincide with a vote to endorse a new defence minister, Massoom Stanekzai. | The Taliban say they carried out the attack to coincide with a vote to endorse a new defence minister, Massoom Stanekzai. |
A gun battle raged for about two hours. | |
At least 18 people are reported to have been wounded. An interior ministry spokesman said no MP had been injured. | |
Pictures on social media showed parliament full of smoke and people running for cover. | Pictures on social media showed parliament full of smoke and people running for cover. |
Television was broadcasting live from the parliament building when the attackers struck. MPs were seen fleeing the building. | |
The attackers managed to get in a building under construction next to the chamber, despite the heavy security in the area, and opened fire on parliament itself. | |
Even by Afghan standards, these were very dramatic scenes, and police had a complex operation on their hands, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul. | |
The country has been without a full-time defence minister for several months, and the attack is sending a clear message to the government by putting out Monday's parliamentary proceedings, our correspondent says. | The country has been without a full-time defence minister for several months, and the attack is sending a clear message to the government by putting out Monday's parliamentary proceedings, our correspondent says. |
Local media reported another explosion in the Dahmazang area of Kabul city. | |
The Taliban have launched complex attacks on government buildings in the capital in the past. | |
They have been advancing across the north of the country, capturing two districts of the Kunduz province in recent days. | |
Militant violence has increased across the country since the departure of most US and Nato forces last year. |