Kabul: A loud explosion rocked the Afghan parliament and shattered windows on Monday as members were in session and gunfire was heard shortly afterwards.

Television was broadcasting live from the building in the west of the capital, Kabul, when the explosion struck and lawmakers were seen leaving the building.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast or whether they were casualties.

‘It was a huge blast that shook the building and shattered windows. We are right now in a safe place,’ said lawmaker Shukria Barekzai.

Militant attacks in Kabul have risen in the past two months after a lull at the beginning of the year.

The city of 3.5 million has never fully stabilised since a U.S.-led war ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001.