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Afghanistan updates: US, Taliban hold first direct talks since withdrawal
State Dept. spokesperson Ned Price called the talks "candid and professional."
It's been more than a month since the U.S. withdrew all U.S. troops from Afghanistan on President Joe Biden's order to leave by Aug. 31, ending a chaotic evacuation operation after the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban seized control of the country.
In testimony to Congress last month, their first since the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan -- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, candidly admitted that they had recommended to Biden that the U.S. should keep a troop presence there, appearing to contradict his assertions to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
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Family members, residents watch funeral procession of marine killed in Kabul airport bombing
On Saturday, family members and residents in Lawrence, Massachusetts, watched the funeral procession of Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, who was killed in the Aug. 26 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport.
Rosariopichardo, 25, was one of 13 U.S. marine service members killed in the attack. She was assigned to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
-ABC News' Meredith Deliso, Miles Cohen, Luis Martinez, and Jennifer Watts
NATO secretary general says thorough assessment launched into Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote in an op-ed published Saturday that a "thorough assessment" has been launched into the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
"Indeed, there are many hard questions we need to ask honestly about our engagement. There are lessons that we must all learn," he wrote in the article, which published in the German newspaper Die Welt.
Stoltenberg also emphasized the "essential" role military force plays in combating terrorism and the importance of cross continental collaboration.
UN calls on Taliban to stop beating and detaining protesters, journalists
The United Nations called on the Taliban Friday to immediately stop detaining and using force against protesters and journalists.
Peaceful protestors and journalists covering them have faced increasing violence from the Taliban, including the use of live ammunition, whips and batons, the spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement Friday.
The statement detailed numerous incidents in the last month during which the Taliban detained, beat or killed protesters and journalists, according to credible reports.
On Wednesday, as a group of female protestors gathered in Kabul, five journalists were arrested and two were "severely beaten for several hours," the statement said.
Then, during a protest in Herat on Tuesday, the Taliban reportedly killed two men and wounded seven more. U.N. reports said the same day, the group detained up to 15 journalists in Kabul.
From Aug. 15-19, the Taliban reportedly killed a man and a child and injured eight others while firing into a crowd to disperse protesters who gathered for national flag-raising ceremonies in the Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, the statement said.
The U.N. called on the Taliban to ensure the freedom to peacefully assemble and pointed to international human rights law that protects peaceful protests.
44 US citizens invited on flight leaving Afghanistan, some decline
The second passenger flight to leave Kabul since the U.S. military withdrawal landed in Doha Friday, with 19 U.S. citizens on board despite 44 being invited on the flight, a State Department official said.
The official cited "various reasons" for U.S. citizens declining to get on the flight.
The department will continue its efforts to ensure safe passage for any Afghan partners who want to leave Afghanistan, the official said, but didn’t say that included inviting Afghans on Thursday's or Friday's chartered flights.
"We made every effort on short notice to utilize all available seats. We invited U.S. citizens and LPRs [lawful permanent residents] who indicated their willingness to depart on short notice," the official said.
While there are so many Afghans still desperate to leave, the official said, "Our first priority continues to be assisting U.S. citizens and LPRs who wish to depart Afghanistan."
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan.