Taliban Attack Afghan Parliament and Seize a 2nd District in North

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/world/asia/taliban-attack-afghan-parliament-and-seize-a-2nd-district-in-north.html?_r=0



The site of a Taliban attack outside the Afghan Parliament in Kabul on Monday.

Taliban Attack Afghan Parliament and Seize a 2nd District in North
By ROD NORDLAND
JUNE 22, 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban attacked the Afghan Parliament on Monday just as lawmakers were convening for their third attempt to confirm a defense minister, while in northern Afghanistan a second district fell to Taliban insurgents.

There were no early reports of serious casualties in the Parliament attack, and government officials said that all members of Parliament had been taken to safety with only minor injuries, even as fighting continued.

The seizure of the Archi district, which borders Kunduz, the capital of the northern province of Kunduz, deepened concern that an attack on the city was imminent. It was the second district neighboring the capital to fall in two days.

The Parliament attack was an embarrassment to the government, apparently timed to coincide with the appearance of the acting defense minister, Masoom Stanekzai, in a bid to win confirmation. The attack began as Mr. Stanekzai and the country’s second vice president, Sarwar Danish, arrived at the hall in southwestern Kabul.