Marines battle Taliban in searing heat: ; Insurgents likely captured American soldier missing Tuesday, U.S. military says

NAWA, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines hiked through searing heat andtook fire from small pockets of militants after landing in thisTaliban-controlled southern region of tree-lined fields, mud homesand crisscrossing waterways in the first major operation underPresident Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military announced that insurgents werebelieved to have captured an American soldier missing in easternAfghanistan on Tuesday. The missing soldier was not involved inOperation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," under way in southernAfghanistan.

The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m.Thursday, as thousands of Marines …