Gunfire erupts at Kabul University as police surround campus

Gunfire erupted at Kabul University in the Afghan capital early Monday and police have surrounded the sprawling campus, authorities said.

At least six people have been wounded, Public Health Ministry spokesman Akmal Samsor said. Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said the gunfire was ongoing.

Afghan media reported a book exhibition was being held at the university and attended by a number of dignitaries at the time of the shooting.

Local television stations Tolo and Ariana described the event as a joint Afghan-Iranian book fair, though Afghan officials have so far declined to discuss it.

University professor Zabiullah Haidari told a local TV station Ariana that classes were underway when the shooting began. University officials and security personnel were escorting students off-campus, Haidari said.

Security forces blocked off roads leading to the campus as frantic families tried to reach their children at the university.

No group immediately took responsibility for the ongoing attack though the Taliban issued a statement saying they were not involved.

Last year, a bomb outside of the Kabul University campus' gates killed eight people. In 2016, gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13.