SHOWS: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (JUNE 22, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SECURITY PERSONNEL WALKING 2. SMOKE RISING 3. VARIOUS OF GUNFIGHT SOUND 4. MORE OF SMOKE 5. CARS ON ROAD 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AKHAR MOHAMMAD, SHOPKEEPER IN BLAST AREA, SAYING: “I was busy at work when suddenly a huge fire came up from that building as you hear the clashes is still going on. We don’t know exactly what is going on here.” 7. GUNFIGHT SOUND COMING FROM BUILDING 8. SOUND OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES ARRIVING 9. MORE OF GUNFIGHT SOUND AMIDST EMERGENCY VEHICLE SIREN 10. MORE OF SMOKE RISING 11. PEOPLE WALKING AWAY 12. BROKEN GLASS ON FLOOR 13. CROWDS GATHERING 14. STUDENTS CROSSING ROAD STORY: A Taliban suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked the Afghan parliament on Monday (June 22), shattering windows and forcing lawmakers to flee. Live TV showed lawmakers in parliament as the attack occurred and the gunbattle was still continuing. A local eyewitness said clashes is still going on. “I was busy at work when suddenly a huge fire came up from that building as you hear the clashes is still going on. We don’t know exactly what is going on here,” said Akhar Mohammad, a shop owner in the area. Security officials said the bomber blew himself up just outside the parliament buildings and several fighters took positions in a building close to parliament. They said all the lawmakers were safe. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in a phone interview, saying: “We have launched an attack on parliament as there was an important gathering to introduce the country’s defence minister“. Violence has spiralled in Afghanistan since the departure of most foreign forces at the end of last year and the fall of the second district raises questions about the NATO-trained Afghan security forces’ ability to fight the Taliban. The withdrawal of foreign forces and a reduction in U.S. air strikes have allowed Taliban fighters to launch several major attacks in important Afghan provinces. The second district to fall to the Taliban on Monday was in the northern province of Kunduz. The Taliban captured Dasht-e-Archi district a day after hundreds of militants fought their way to the centre of the adjacent district of Chardara.