Though the Army is close to recovering Tiger Hills, the strong enemy presence in other areas, including Kaksar, Mushkoh Valley, Batalik, Chorbat La and Turtuk, is a cause for concern.

For one, the National Highway 1A is still not safe. ``It will not be till the enemy is pushed back to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kaksar belt,'' says a field commander.

The enemy can directly see and shell the highway. As of now, it is closed to the public and bright red signboards warn motorists: the enemy can fire at you.

The Army has been unable to make significant progress in the Kaksar belt due to the treacherous terrain and snow. ``We need artillery guns to soften the target,'' says an officer, ``but there's no suitable place to position the guns due to the rocky terrain. We are putting the artillery gunswherever possible but they are not having the desired impact.''

Troops have also not been able to cut enemy supply lines in the Kaksar-Kharboo area, which abounds in infiltrators. The snowy terrain and the ridgeline sloping into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have made matters worse.

The nullahs, fox holes and long distances between mountains help the enemy escape and hide whenever soldiers comb the area. Troops trying to push back the infiltrators say they need augmentation in the form of men, resources and also a more intense artillery backup.

Field commanders say that as soon as Drass is cleared, the focus will shift to clearing Kaksar. Confident officers of the Drass Brigade Headquarters say that recovery of Tiger Hills is a matter of time. ``The back of enemy resistance has been broken with the capture of Tuloling Heights,'' an officer says.

Up ahead in Batalik-Yaldor sector, the Army is jubilant after having thwarted Pakistan's designs to cut off the Siachen sector. Senior officers say that had theynot moved the troops to take over the peaks, the horseshoe shaped infiltration would have been long, straight and deep, altering the LoC drastically.

But here, too, the Army has a tough fight ahead. Jubar, Kukarthan and several other ridgelines still elude it and supply lines to the enemy remain to be cut. The Army feels that the Air Force needs to play a more active role, probably fly a few low-level sorties to ensure that their bombs fall bang on target. ``We need air superiority to scare the enemy. And that will make the advance of ground troops easier,'' says an officer.

In the Chorbat La and the Turtuk areas, beyond Leh, the Ladakh Scouts are providing invaluable support. In fact, Major Sonam Wangchuk of the Ladakh Scouts managed to capture a vital mountain ridgeline in the Chorbat La sub-sector, considered one of the world's most brutal battlefields. It has given the Army a much needed foothold in the region and now the Army has gone over the mountain top, facing the LoC. Here, a crucialinfiltration point has been snapped.

Infiltration into the Mushkoh Valley too remains to be removed. Its deep gullies descending from the PoK into India provide accessibility to the infiltrators. More than 300 intruders are said to be occupying fortified positions along the ridges of the Valley, the Army estimates.

``And the task to cut off the route has been made extremely difficult by continuous Pakistani shelling. Any significant counter attacks by our artillery are also difficult. But we will take care,'' says an officer, confident but aware of the long haul ahead.