Police have reported that the six Taliban gunmen who attacked the Afghan parliament on Monday have been killed, nearly two hours after lawmakers were forced to flee by a large explosion and gunfire.

Attackers detonated a huge car bomb outside the gates, stormed the compound, then entered a building next to the chamber.

Police evacuated the premises while trying to fight the gunmen off.

According to a top media house, the Taliban said that they carried out the attack to coincide with a vote to endorse a new Defence Minister.

The Spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sediq Seddiqi, said that the gunmen had attempted to storm the parliament building itself after the gates were breached by the suicide bomb.

They were fought-off and entered a building under construction next to parliament. MPs were showered with broken glass, and the Chamber filled with smoke as the fighting went on.

It took nearly one hour before all the firing stopped.

At least 18 people are reported to have been wounded, as Mr Seddiqi said no MP had been injured.