DAHANEH, Afghanistan — U.S. Marines have mounted a helicopter and ground assault to seize the Taliban-held town of Dahaneh in southern Afghanistan and are fighting gain control of the area ahead of next week's presidential elections.

The assault, called operation Eastern Resolve, began before dawn Wednesday, with 500 Marines and Afghan troops entering the town as others battled militants in the surrounding mountains.

The town has never before seen coalition forces.

MINGORA, Pakistan — In a voice barely above a whisper, I.H. stared at his feet as he recounted haltingly how the Taliban kidnapped him and a classmate as they played in the street. They cleaned dishes for a few days in a militant training camp in northern Pakistan before escaping during Friday prayers, he said.

The Pakistani army says it has so far found 20 boys like I.H., who is only being identified by his initials for his safety, in the battle-scarred Swat Valley, scene of a major offensive against the Taliban this spring.

They believe the Taliban hoped to turn the boys into informants, fighters or even suicide bombers. Some escaped, others were rescued by authorities. Maj. Nasir Khan said many more are believed to be in the hands of militants.

WASHINGTON — The United States is nearly certain the Pakistani Taliban's leader is dead, and there now is a leadership struggle within the terrorist group, White House national security adviser James Jones said Sunday.

Claims and counterclaims about Baitullah Mehsud's fate have swirled since a CIA missile strike last Wednesday on his father-in-law's house in Pakistan's rugged, lawless tribal area.

"Mehsud was a very bad individual, a real thug," said Jones, who appeared on three Sunday talk shows. He said the U.S. "put it in the 90 percent category" that Meshud was killed. "This is a big deal," he said.

By 1945, the Volkssturm was commonly drafting 12-year-old Hitler Youth members into its ranks. During the Battle of Berlin, Axmann's Hitler Youth formed a major part of the last line of German defense, and were reportedly among the fiercest fighters. Although the city commander, General Helmuth Weidling, ordered Axmann to disband the Hitler Youth combat formations; in the confusion, this order was never carried out.