Taliban insurgents stepped up attacks on Friday against US Marines in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand River valley, forcing troops in some areas to spend the day fighting instead of carrying out plans to meet with residents and local leaders.

The stiffest resistance occurred in the district of Garmser, where Taliban fighters holed up in a walled housing compound engaged in an eight-hour gun battle with troops from the 2nd battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment. The Marines eventually requested a Harrier fighter jet to drop a 500 pound bomb on the compound, which was believed to have killed all of the fighters inside.