Graffiti left behind by Taliban fighters remains on the walls of a compound now used as a command center for the U.S Marine Corps at Musa Qala insouthern Afghanistan's Helmand province. (Reuters)
The White House denied reports from senior Pakistani army officials that US officials planned to meet with the Taliban on Thursday, a spokeswoman said.
"The United States currently has no meetings with the Taliban scheduled in Doha," said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council. "We remain supportive of an Afghan-led reconciliation process whereby the Taliban and the Afghans engage in talks toward a settlement to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan."
Sources in the Afghan Taliban had said their negotiators would hold a first round of talks with U.S. officials on Thursday in Qatar.
© Thomson Reuters 2015