There was heavy shelling by Pakistan in the Mushkoh sub-sector last night and the entire day today. Pakistan also resorted to intensive shelling in Kargil, Matayen and Batalik. In Matayen, one soldier was killed and another injured. The Indian artillery retaliated, firing nearly 1000 shells last night.

In the Batalik sector, fierce fighting continued as the Indian infantry soldiers met with stiff resistance from the enemy army. Eight Indian soldiers, including an officer, were injured in last night's operations on Shangruti Top and brought to the hospital in Kargil. The number of casualties was said to be high on the Pakistani side, though it was difficult to give the exact figure because some bodies were still lying on thepeaks, Army officers said.

The Air Force resumed regular dominance sorties and reconnaissance missions along the LoC, taking aerial pictures of positions still held by the enemy and trying to see if the Pakistani soldiers were retreating.

``Though the number of infiltrators still left in the Indian territory are not many, Pakistan's main aim is to prevent our troops from strengthening their position at these heights on the LoC. That is the reason why they have intensified shelling and firing from across the LoC,'' an officer in Mushkoh Brigade Headquarters said.

Strategies and operations were being formulated to get the last Pakistani intruder to vacate with minimum casualties to Indian troops. In the last stages of Operation Vijay, the Army wanted to keep the casualties down.Despite cautious advance by Indian infantry soldiers, anti-personnel mines remain the Army's worry. Moreover, there are plastic mines which cannot be detected by the conventional methods.