KABUL, Nov 23: At least one Afghan protester was killed and six wounded on Sunday when soldiers fired on a group of demonstrators who broke into the defence ministry in the capital, witnesses said.

The 200 or so protesters, belonging to former mujahideen groups who helped US forces oust the Taliban in late 2001, were recently sacked from the defence ministry, and were demanding three months of unpaid salary.

In the presidential palace nearby, President Hamid Karzai’s security services, which include US guards, went on high alert, and one person from his “security detail” was slightly injured in the clashes, international peacekeepers said.

The protesters blamed defence ministry soldiers for firing at the crowd, but officials said the demonstrators broke into the main building of the ministry, smashed windows and even fired gun shots.

“I saw him being shot in the eye and there was his body on the ground,” said one of the protesters, who gave his name as Isamuddin.

“The condition of another of the wounded was serious, while five others were shot either in the leg or chest,” said another protester, standing on the road outside the ministry where there were some blood stains on the ground. The protesters said their action had been peaceful and they had entered the building to complain to top officials from the ministry, but were fired at by soldiers “without any reason”.—Reuters