Taliban Fighters Attack Afghanistan's Parliament, Killing a Woman and Child

The Taliban launched a coordinated attack on Afghanistan's parliament in Kabul on Monday. A suicide car bomber detonated his device at the entrance, rocking the parliament building, while gunmen battled police and attempted to enter.

The explosion happened while the parliament was in session and most of the MPs were inside. The lawmakers were about to vote on whether they would endorse a new defense minister — Massoom Stanekzai — who had just been introduced. The proceedings were also being broadcast live on television.

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 and eventually took refuge in a nearby building that was under construction, he said, adding that police surrounded the structure.

Two were killed — a woman and a child. Health Ministry officials said earlier that 31 people were injured, all civilians.

The Interior Ministry said that — aside from the suicide bomber — six attackers had been involved in the assault, and that all of them were killed by the Afghan security forces.

— Pajhwok Afghan News (@pajhwok)June 22, 2015

Pictures posted by MPs on social media showed the chamber filled with smoke.

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1)June 22, 2015

Sediqqi said all the MPs inside parliament were safe. Most have since been evacuated via the parliament's back door.

Sidiqa Mubarez, a member of parliament, said the building was shaken by a large explosion and that some people were wounded by flying glass. She said the explosion happened shortly after Stanekzai had arrived to be confirmed as defense minister, a post that has been vacant for nine months.

The Taliban said in a statement that they carried out a suicide bombing outside the parliament.

Local media are also reporting another explosion in the Dahmazang area of Kabul city, according to the BBC.

Just down the street, hundreds of children were evacuated from a school.

Taliban insurgents have launched complex attacks on government targets in the capital in the past.

The insurgents 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 the insurgents attacked the district of Dashti Archi from four sides, setting off heavy fighting before seizing full control of the area early Monday. He said local forces suffered casualties but did not have a precise count.

He said around 150,000 residents of the district were unable to leave.

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The Taliban confirmed that they had captured the district, as well as ammunition and four tanks, in an emailed statement.

The group seized control of the Chardara district in Kunduz on Sunday. The insurgents attacked the provincial capital, also called Kunduz, in a surprise attack in April and nearly captured the city before Afghan forces pushed them back.

Afghan forces have struggled to fend off Taliban advances since the US and NATO combat mission officially concluded at the end of last year.

The parliament of Afghanistan is inside a security zone within the city of Kabul, and special permits are required by anyone traveling inside. It's still unclear how Taliban fighters were able to penetrate so deeply inside Afghanistan's most secure district.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.