Afghanistan updates: US, Taliban hold first direct talks since withdrawal

A suicide bombing at a mosque in the city of Kunduz, about 200 miles north of Kabul, has left scores of people dead or wounded.

According to Kunduz provincial spokesman Matiullah Rohani, the attack was carried out during Friday prayers while the mosque was packed with worshippers.

At least 50 people were killed and 100 injured, officials said, though the exact number was not immediately clear and is expected to climb. A health official at the Kunduz provincial hospital told ABC News that it had received 26 bodies.

-ABC News' Aleem Agha

United Kingdom officials have traveled to Afghanistan to meet senior Taliban members, the U.K. Foreign Office said Tuesday.

"The Prime Minister’s High Representative for Afghan Transition, Sir Simon Gass, and Chargé d’Affaires of the UK Mission to Afghanistan in Doha, Dr Martin Longden, traveled to Afghanistan today to hold talks with the Taliban," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. "They met senior members of the Taliban, including Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund and Mawlawi Abdul-Salam Hanafi."

The statement said the diplomats "discussed how the UK could help Afghanistan to address the humanitarian crisis, the importance of preventing the country from becoming an incubator for terrorism, and the need for continued safe passage for those who want to leave the country. They also raised the treatment of minorities and the rights of women and girls."

"The government continues to do all it can to ensure safe passage for those who wish to leave, and is committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan," it added.

-ABC News' Sohel Uddin

The Qataris have confirmed to ABC News that there were Americans on board the fifth evacuation flight from Kabul since the U.S. troop withdrawal.

"The State of Qatar is pleased to have worked with a number of parties on the ground as well as its international partners to make this flight possible," a senior Qatari government official said in a statement to ABC News.

The government said the flight carried 235 passengers, which is the second-largest Qatari passenger evacuation flight since the Aug. 31 deadline.

The majority of passengers onboard were Afghan citizens, while there were also citizens from several other countries, the official said. The number of Americans onboard the flight is not yet known.

"Upon arriving to Qatar, the passengers will be transported to the compound facility currently hosting Afghan civilians and other evacuees," the official said. "There, they will be able to take a COVID-19 test, rest and remain in Doha until departing to their final destinations."
-ABC News' Sohel Uddin

The House Armed Services Committee hearing has adjourned with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, closing out a second day of questions from congressional lawmakers on the U.S. military’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan.

Several Republicans dug into Milley and McKenzie saying they had recommended leaving approximately 2,500 troops behind as a residual force in Afghanistan, appearing to contradict Biden’s comments to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the opinion of his military advisers was "split" and that he didn't recall being told 2,500 troops would allow for a "stable" situation.

Austin repeated his acknowledgments of "uncomfortable truths" about the two-decade-old U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, of which he is a veteran, but was careful not to contradict the president.