July 4 : After a night of all-out assault, Indian troops moved in early today to wrest back the strategic 16,000-ft Tiger Hill, freeing the Srinagar-Leh highway of incessant Pakistani pounding. A beaming defence minister George Fernandes announced the peak?s capture in Chandigarh while army headquarters in South Block released a guarded statement, claiming the victory was a ?significant success?. But it stressed the war was far from over. Troops from 18 Grenadiers spearheaded the operation and hoisted the Tricolour atop Tiger Hill after several hours of intense battle. The attack was launched along ?three unexpected approaches, which completely surprised the enemy?. The recapture of Tiger Hill is a watershed in Indian operations to evict intruders who have been occupying key positions within Indian territory. Earlier this afternoon, there was a scare that about half-a-dozen enemy soldiers took the Indian forces by surprise, forcing a tactical retreat. But by evening, an infantry officer said: ?They have been taken care of.? The peak is among the most crucial vantage positions in the Kargil sector. It overlooks the Line of Control and if lighter mortars can be placed on top of the ridge, the Pakistani supply line can be easily targeted. Army spokesman Col Bikram Singh said ground troops had ?achieved a significant success in the Drass sector? and dubbed the operation ?exceptionally well-planned and executed?. But he cautioned: ?We have got to the top, but in the periphery, pockets of intrusion are still there.? The battle is now being waged mostly on the northern and western spurs and on ?Charlie Feature?, a ridge to the west of Tiger Hill. The mopping-up operation could still take 24 hours. In the backwash of the assault on Tiger Hill, Drass is quite devastated. A lieutenant and three other soldiers on their way to a public phone booth were killed in heavy artillery pounding. Hindustan Times journalist Rajesh Ramachandran was injured by shrapnel. He is out of danger after being treated by an army medical unit and has been evacuated to Srinagar. An officer in Drass said many of the intruders atop Tiger Hill have fled, but several ?Pakistani regulars? fought to the end. No casualty figure was available. Chief of army staff General V.P. Malik announced a special citation for the 18 Grenadiers. The Grenadiers had taken part in the decisive battle for Tololing ridge and followed it up with exemplary efforts to capture Point 4590 and Three Pimples in the Drass sector. Besides Tiger Hill, Indian troops recaptured another significant position in Batalik, where they made headway over the past 48 hours. In two other adjoining positions, fierce fighting is on. In Batalik, four enemy positions along a particular ridgeline have become the principal target for Indian ground troops. The Ladakh Scouts captured one of them on Wednesday night. A second position was won back early today. Col Avtar Singh of Kargil divisional headquarters said 13 enemy soldiers were killed. The Indians toll was up by 12 at 250.