once in dahaneh, the marines met stiff resistance. taliban fighters, hidden among the buildings, fired small arms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. the marines responded with intense and sustained gunfire. >> we're on the offensive now instead of the defensive. a lot of our missions have been defensive on our own turf. so it's good to get out here on the offense. >> at least seven taliban fighters were reported killed. the marines also reported seizing 66 pounds of opium, an important source of income for the taliban. >>> anand gopal is a reporter for the "the wall street journal" based in kabul. >> the marines have launched an offensive in helmand in the early part of july. and pushing a lot of the insurgent fighters up north and they're kind of filtering out of the province into some of the northern provinces. and so this town lies along the very important route for which insurgents are meeting. >> also part of the assault, a contingent of women marines brought in to deal with afghan women as the americans conducted house-to-h

some 500 marines a afghan army troops gathebefore dawn in preparation for the sault on dahaneh. many othe marines were dropped behind taliban les in a commandotyle raid. pictures taken by journalis from the aociated press embedded with the rines, heier jets can be seen streaking ov head in support of the assault. once in dahane the marines met stiff resistance. talibafighters, hidden among the buildings,ired sma arms, mortars and rocket propeed grenades. the marines responded with intense d sustained gunfire. >> we're on thoffensive now inead of the defensive. lot of our missions have bee densive on our own turf. so it's od to get out here on the offens >> at least seven taliba fighters were reportedilled. thmarines also reported seizing 66 pounds of opi, an important urce of income for the taliban. >>> anand gopais a reporter fothe christian science monitor based in kabul. >> the marines haveaunched an offense in helmand in the early rt of july. and pushing lot of the insuent fighters up north and ki of filtering out ofhe province into so the nthern provinces and this town lies

. >> dahaneh is one of the key towns in the area.ll the smaller towns are economically dependent on dahaneh. for example, this is where the bazaar is. by liberating dahaneh, we free the local populace from the influence of the taliban. they are able to go about their daily lives without being faced with intimidation or murder. by nightfall, taliban fighters still held the town, and the fighting intensified. marine officers said the combat could last several days. in the philippines, overnment troops attacked militants tied to al qaeda, and killed at least 20 of them. the assaults on a southern island, hit jungle camps used by leaders of the group abu sayef. it was unclear if any of the top militants were killed, but the military said fierce fighting lasted all day. heavy rain in southern taiwan held up the search today for survivors of a powerful typhoon. hundreds of people may be missing, and hundreds more are still waiting for help, four days after the deadly storm. we have a report narrated by jane deeth of independent television

weres, working with 100 afghan troops, launched a major offensive wednesday, to wrestle control of dahanehe taliban. >> this is one of the key towns in the area. all of the smaller towns are dependent on dahaneh. >> marines with no intentions of giving up their strategic base. this is vital to the taliban's drug-running operations. and troops have already retrieved sketch pounds of openium. -- 67 pounds of openium. -- opium. >> they are also under commands from u.s. to protect civilians. >> tell them right now that it is not safe for them to walk over there. they need to come with us. tell them the taliban has guns all over there. >> reporter: marines helped this family reach safety. but orders to hold fire seem to be slowing down their advance in some areas. the goal is to clear the taliban out and make it safer for all afghans to get to the polls for next week's presidential election. drew levinson, wjz eyewitness news. >> afghanistan's president has ordered a cease-fire during the upcoming election day. on august 20th, voters will choose between the current president and about three doz

troops, as you say, marines now in the fight in the city of dahaneh. some of the video we're showing our viewers is really extraordinary. this video, some taken at night by the associated press as they moved through the area with the marines. casualties in southern afghanistan have been heavy in recent weeks as the extra u.s. troops have moved in. president obama, of course, sending the 21,000 additional troops to afghanistan. over the next several days very intense to make sure those elections do come off and free and fair as much as possible in afghanistan and that the taliban don't disrupt them. kiran. >> we heard from general mcchrystal about the challenges there, the taliban having the upper hand. we hear about the battles. will we see more u.s. troops heading over there soon. >> that's the question on the table. general mcchrystal finishing up that assessment about what else is needed for defense secretary robert gates and president obama. this is the question everybody is asking. there are indications that general mccrystal will ask for addition

the marine advance in dahaneh has been slowed at times by the new rules of engagement here. general stanley mcchrystal changed the rules to prevent mass casualties among afghan villages. he said all foreign took places have to use proportionate force and make protecting afghan civilians their top priority. not a single afghan civilian has been killed or wounded in spite of the fierce fighting. here they're escorting afghan civilians from their homes, directing them to safety. >> tell him that right now it is not safe for them to walk over there. they have it come with us. tell him the taliban has guns all over there. >> reporter: this elderly man almost got caught in the cross-fire after a warning shot he was searched and sent on his way. many of the 2,000 people who live here have fled. the marines will come back when the town is secure in time to vote in the presidential election next week. lara logan, cbs news, camp bastion, helmand. >> couric: coming up next right here on the cbs evening news, the number of americans drowning in debt is rising. saddled with homes worth l

some people in the village of dahaneh did get to cast their ballots. just days after marines wrestled control of the town from taliban fighters. further south, where echo company operates, it was a different story. the polls have just closed. voting has now ended, and the marines haven't found a single person in this part of helmund province who actually voted. >> hey, what's up? >> reporter: they did find curious young boys in the villages who played along as the marines tried to pass on a few very american customs, but there was a sense by the end of the day here that a milestone in afghan history had passed these people by, leaving this troubled part of the country more alienated from their dpft than ever. lara logan, cbs news, southern helmund. >> glor: the u.s. commander in afghanistan is due to give a battle field assessment in fall. as it stands right now, u.s. troop strength by year's end will total 68,000. cbs news has learned general stanley mcchrystal will recommend the pentagon add 15 to 45,000 more. now, for the latest in the debate over h

. >> for the second day in a row, hundreds of marines bore down on the taliban stronghold of dahaneh in the helmand province. the troops were backed by cobra attack helicopters, firing rockets at taliban positions in the nearby fountains. fox news correspondent greg palkot sent reports from the front line. >> we have been hearing taliban fire all around us coming into contact with the marines. you can hear it there right now. these marines are working with another squad, another platoon as they work their way down this village trying to clear this place. the taliban aren't giving up. >> afghan forces are working hand in hand with u.s. troops, conducting door-to-door searches trying to put an afghan face on the offensive as the u.s. does all it can to avoid civilian casualties because the whole idea is to create confidence and security, to encourage save gans to show up and vote in next thursday's election. they hope to unseat karzai and u.s. officials are confident this will be a more open and fair election than the one four years ago. >> it looks like more afghans will be able to to

marines and a hundred afghan troops stormed the town of dahaneh in the face of heavy resistance. today, the coalition force resumed its bid to drive out insurgents who've kept the area in their grip. >> ( translated ): there is no peace and security in this country, and we are concerned. now, hopefully, security and prosperity will come to this village. we all look forward to that. >> brown: the coalition force also operated under new restrictions on air strikes to avoid civilian casualties. this was the latest in a series of recent operations since u.s. forces began a major buildup in afghanistan. casualties have also been rising, with another american and three british soldiers killed today. as more u.s. troops pour in, "the wall street journal" reported this week that their top commander, army general stanley mcchrystal, was warning that the taliban have gained the upper hand. the general's aides disputed that account, and today in washington, defense secretary robert gates said it's a mixed picture. >> in some parts of afghanistan, the taliban have clearly established a prese

. >> we are reporting from the town of dahaneh. it is relatively quiet at this moment. earlier it was very noisy. take a look and take a listen. this mission is called operation eastern results. the aim is to clear the taliban from this town. i can speak from my own experience. from what we saw today, the taliban does not want to go. small arms, mortar fire, and even an ied that had to be defused in front of our vehicles. a lot of close calls today for the marines and maybe even for us. no u.s. casualties today. on the other side, according to the captain on the ground, he says there have been taliban deaths. they have been hit by even stronger weaponry from the u.s. marines, missiles, and it airdropped bomb. the locals have been huddling inside of their homes in this village of two thousand people. we are told that the taliban is victimizing them. we are told they would welcome a change in government, a change in security in this town. we will save. in the meantime, there's trouble all around. the bad guys are nearby and the fight continues. trace: with us now is fox n

. >> reporter: in dahaneh, they predict a few more days of intense fighting. for the marines, that means fighting the 120-degree temperatures and turning up the heat on the taliban. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> afghanistan and beyond. if you want to really understand what's going on in the muslim world, wash "generation islam" tonight at 9:00 eastern. >>> if you are hungry, one airline is hoping you will belly up to the buffet. you don't need to get a clean plate. makes you wonder. are we seeing a new standard here? >>> let's go over that deal for jetblue airline. $599 flat fee for one month and you can go anywhere that jetblue goes. 56 destinations. you have to buy the pass by august 21. you can book your trips up to three days before takeoff. the window for travel is september 8th to october 8th. stop right there. we don't want to make this a commercial for jetblue obviously. we do want to know what this deal is going to do to the airline industry. is this going to be a new model, the airline version of unlimited local and long distance. peter green

marines mounting a helicopter assault to see the taliban held town of dahaneh.s morning and marines fighting their way into town while others battled militants in the surrounding mountains. the fighting lasted several hours and taliban militants striking back with strong arms fire as well as mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. military sofls say they try to protect boating sites ahead of next week's elections. live to kabul and atia abawi. good to see you. what are the troops doing to try to fortify these voting locations? >> well, what they're doing, tony, they're trying to secure hold areas and they're going after the taliban and mostly they're trying to secure the area for the afghan people when they meet resistance, they fight. but their main tactic right now is to secure afghans to help them go out and vote, to make sure that they feel comfortable enough to vote. but afghanistan is only eight days away from a second ever presidential election and, yes, the picture that you saw from the district of helmand province and eight days will not be enough for af

all of the smaller towns that are economically dependent on dahaneh. this is where the bazaar is. >> reporter: they are part of the extra troops president obama ordered up earlier this year. their immediate mission? break the taliban's hold on the city and free residents to vote in next week's election. >> all right. it's to the right of the wall right there. >> reporter: the taliban have called for a boycott and threatened to ruin the election, which the u.s. concedes is a challenge. >> holding an election in a wartime situation is always difficult, but a government needs legitimacy. and this election was called for under the constitution. >> reporter: commanders predict a few more days of intense fighting before the town is secured. >> and barbara starr joining us now from the pentagon. and, barbara, could we see even more troops sent to afghanistan? >> well, you know, tony, that's really the question right now, will general stan mcchrystal, the new commander for this war, ask for more troops. and all indications are he will ask for some. it's expect

first time our forces have ever entered the dahaneh region which is under taliban control and has beenanhunt underway for a gunman who shot and killed a female toll collector and a man sitting in a parked car it happened near the heavily traveled bridge in california north of san francisco. authorities say the gunman's name is nathan burris. they believe he was driving a white ford van with the words western eagle shuttle on the side. initial police reports say that a domestic dispute could be the blame. burris and the toll worker were living together. steve: final victims of the mid-air collision over the weekend were recovered along with a piece of wreckage from the plane. they pulled the aircraft to the surface, trying not to damage any potential clues. for days, divers have faced murky waters and fast-moving current before finding the plane 60 feet bloat hudson river. investigators are l. now check to see all the controls were working before the crash. nine people died in the collision. including five italian tourists who will be remembered today at a private prayer service right h