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

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a White House briefing on Monday that the U.S. is transferring groups of American citizens to the airport in Kabul but declined to go into detail, citing security concerns.

"We have developed a method to safely and efficiently transfer groups of American citizens onto the airfield. For operational reasons I'm not going to go into further detail on this," he said.

Despite Biden suggesting the U.S. could stay in Afghanistan beyond Aug. 31 as evacuations continue, Sullivan, as Pentagon officials had before him, maintained focus on the deadline at the end of the month. 

"In the days remaining, we believe we have the wherewithal to get out the American citizens who want to leave Kabul," he said. 

"This operation is complex, it is dangerous, it is fraught with challenges: operational, logistical, human. And it’s produced searing images of pain and desperation. But, no 
operation like this, no evacuation from the capital that has fallen in a civil war, could unfold without those images," he added.

More Afghan refugees have arrived in the U.S. with the first on U.S. commercial carriers coming into Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Monday morning. 

"We are really happy to come here," one refugee traveling with his wife and son told ABC News’ Sam Sweeney. He said that he waited two days at the Kabul airport before getting in. 

"The situation in Afghanistan is not good," he added. 

Pentagon officials said at a briefing on Monday that five flights have brought about 1,300 people to Dulles in the last 24 hours.

Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor said some 1,200 Afghans are now distributed between four U.S. military bases: Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort Bliss in Texas and Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst in New Jersey.

The military is still working to build out the capacity to host approximately 22,000 Afghans at the installations following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby at a briefing on Monday was pressed about reports of British and other coalition forces pushing into Kabul to bring people to the airport and said the U.S. is also running those missions on a "case-by-case basis." 

On occasion, as needed, our commanders have the authority that they need to use their assets and their forces to help assist Americans who need to get to the airport -- get to the airport on a case-by-case basis," he said. Later on, he added, “I don’t want to leave you with the idea that we’re patrolling the streets of Kabul.”

Kirby confirmed there was a second helicopter mission to airlift Americans into the airport, in addition to a helicopter recovery of 169 people outside the airport perimeter last week, but would not give details.

"There has been at least one additional instance where rotary airlift was used to help Americans get from outside the airport into the airport, and I think I'm just going to leave it at that today," he said.

He said that other extraction methods are being used as well.

"There's a variety of methods that can be affected and, without going into detail, we're using the variety of methods at our disposal," Kirby added.

Despite several reports that only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are getting into the airport in Kabul, not Afghans, a senior State Department official told reporters on Monday it's not the case. 

"It is not accurate that only Americans get through. That is not an accurate report," the official said during a briefing.

The official said the operation is currently prioritizing Americans, touting the "unbelievable effort" to create a task force of consular officers around the world who get in touch with every American who registers with the embassy and provides instructions for them to get inside the airport.

"You can tell by the data," the official said, "that we are being very successful with this model in getting people amassed and onto airplanes and to the transit hubs, which are represented by countries all over the world."

Eight of those transit hubs are now open in six countries, according to the State Department, hosting more than 17,000 evacuees who have been flown from Kabul and to these hubs. In the next 24 hours, officials expect 8,000 more beds to be available as capacity continues to ramp up.

The official repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether the U.S. will stick to its Aug. 31 deadline, which Biden has seemed open to extending, but which the Taliban warned against earlier on Monday.