At least 19 people were injured as the suicide attack shattered windows, sending a plume of black smoke across Kabul, as a second district in two days fell to the Taliban in the north
Afghan soldiers were preparing a counterattack to retake both districts, another local official said. In picture, smoke rising from the Parliament building
The second district to fall to the Taliban on Monday was in the northern province of Kunduz. Officials said it fell after urgently needed reinforcements failed to arrive. In picture, a view of the smoke rising from the parliament building
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said all lawmakers were safe and that fighting was ongoing. TV pictures showed leglislators calmly leaving the building, which was engulfed with dust and smoke
The withdrawal of foreign forces and a reduction in US air strikes have allowed Taliban fighters to launch several major attacks in important Afghan provinces.
Four women were among the 19 wounded, said Sayed Kabir Amiri, a health official who coordinates Kabul hospitals
A series of Taliban gains, and Monday's attack on the symbolic centre of power, have raised questions about the NATO-trained Afghan security forces' ability to cope
Violence has spiraled in Afghanistan since the departure of most foreign forces at the end of last year as the insurgents push to take territory more than 13 years after the US-led military intervention that toppled the Taliban from power
Security forces have killed the six Taliban suicide bombers who were responsible for the attack
Yet another blast rocks Kabul; Taliban claims responsibility