Kabul  - A Taliban spokesman said six of their fighters armed with assault rifles opened fire during a ceremony which was attended by President Hamid Karzai and his cabinet ministers on Sunday.

Karzai abruptly left the parade, which was held to commemorate the victory of Mujahideen over Soviet Union occupation, after shooting out was heard in live telecast.

"Six of our mujahideen attacked the ceremony and in the shootout three of them were martyred and the other three after the attack fled the area and are in a safe place," Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Live broadcast by Afghan state-run TV showed presidential bodyguards shielding the area around the stage where the president and his cabinet members were sitting. (dpa)