Two soldiers have been killed and seven people hurt after a man in army uniform opened fire inside the Afghan defence ministry in Kabul, officials have said.
The attacker, who was also wearing an explosive vest, reached the second floor, where the defence minister and the army chief of staff have offices.
He managed to shoot aides to the minister and the chief-of-staff before being killed by bodyguards.
The Taliban said they had intended to kill the "puppet" defence minister.
The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says this is first time a gunman has got so close to an Afghan minister's office.
Checkpoints
A senior Afghan security official told the BBC that the attacker was wearing the uniform of a colonel in the Afghan National Army (ANA).
He managed to pass through checkpoints outside and inside the ministry building with a weapon and suicide vest because he had a valid ID.
After reaching the second floor of the building, he was confronted by bodyguards deployed there and a fire-fight erupted.
The assailant was eventually killed, but not before he had shot dead two ANA soldiers and wounded seven others, including the two senior aides.
But he was not able to detonate his suicide vest, the security official said. Local media have reported that there was an explosion.
The apparent target of the attack, Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, was not inside the building at the time of the attack, the official added.
The defence ministry is located in the centre of the capital, close to the presidential palace and other ministries.
Our correspondent says serious questions will be asked how the attacker got inside one of Afghanistan's most important ministries.
This is the fourth deadly attack in the last five days, but the first time someone got so close to senior officials in their offices, he adds.
