The White House denied reports that U.S. 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.