Taliban commandos stormed an Afghan ministry in the heart of Kabul yesterday, shooting their way into the building where one of them blew himself up and killed five people.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the daring attack, calling it an attempt to hinder government efforts to secure dialogue with the militants to end a seven-year insurgency.

Three assailants opened fire on the police guards outside the Ministry of Information and Culture before entering its cavernous hall, where the suicide bomber launched the attack, said Amir Mohammad, a police guard who was wounded in the blast.