Taliban insurgents on Monday morning attacked the Afghan parliament in the middle of a session that aims to confirm a third nominee for the position of Defense minister. 

The attack reportedly started when a Taliban suicide bomber driving a vehicle full of explosives stopped outside the parliament gates in Kabul and detonated the bombs. According to local police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi, armed men tried to enter the parliament but was blocked by security forces, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

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The militants engaged the police in a firefight, forcing the Talibans to withdraw to a nearby unfinished building. The violent exchange lasted for two hours, wounding 31 civilians including women and children, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ismail Kahousi said. 

A woman and a 10-year-old girl were killed in the skirmish. All six Taliban gunmen and the suicide bomber were killed. Government officials reportedly sustained only minor injuries and everyone was accounted for. 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid released multiple statements, some of them tweets, claiming responsibility for the attack. 

"We have launched an attack on parliament as there was an important gathering to introduce the country's defense minister," Mujahid said on the phone, as reported by Reuters. 

The militant spokesman added that this highlighted the holes in the current administration's system, even calling it a "failure." 

"It shows a big failure in the intelligence and security departments of the government," he added. 

Boston Herald reported that the incident happened at around 10:30 am local time. Members of the parliament were scheduled to confirm Masoom Stanekzai, the acting Defense minister, as the third nominee for the position. The country's vice president, Sarwar Danish, was also present in the convention.

Afghanistan is on its 10th month of not having a solid and official Defense minister since the inauguration of President Ashraf Ghani in September 2014, with the government rejecting the first two nominees.  

Stanekzai is a peace diplomat and a member of the High Peace Council tasked of serving as the bridge between the government and the rebels. 

President Ashraf Ghani released a statement condemning the action and the timing of the attack.

"Targeting innocent people in the holy month of Ramadan is a clear act of hostility against the religion of Islam. The perpetrators are criminals who are bound by no creed or religion," the statement said. 

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan echoed Ghani's anger, calling the incident a "clear and deliberate affront to democracy in Afghanistan. 

Tagstaliban attack, terrorist attack in Kabul, attack in Afghan parliament, Afghanistan insurgents, Afghanistan unsettled