New Delhi, June 7 :     The National Security Council fears that eliminating and pushing back the intruders in Kargil will be an ??uphill?? task for which the defence establishment will have to bear a heavy cost. This is the key point of a secret note of the joint intelligence committee, the council?s secretariat, prepared last weekend while assessing the situation arising out of Operation Vijay. The Cabinet committee on security, comprising the Prime Minister and some of his senior colleagues, who are also part of the first tier of the security council, is meeting regularly and keeping itself abreast of assessments by the joint intelligence committee. The intelligence report paints a grim picture of the ??war?? against the Pakistan army-backed foreign mercenaries, largely Afghan Mujahideens, and the massive losses that Indian armed forces will have to suffer in case the conflict drags on. The joint intelligence committee, which consists of the heads of intelligence wings of the three services, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), has justified its findings by saying that even after 13 days of campaign against the intruders, the army and the air force have been able to recapture just 15 to 20 per cent of lost territory. A separate home ministry report, prepared after fresh facts were gathered over the past few days by security agencies along areas near the Line of Control, concurs with the intelligence assessment. The report adds that despite the sustained air and ground attacks, well over 1,000 armed mercenaries and Pakistan army regulars remain well-entrenched in various sub-sectors of Kargil. What should alarm the government are intelligence reports that besides these intruders, another group of around 2,000 insurgents and Pakistan army personnel remain prepared to sneak in through points in the Mashkoh, Drass, Kaksar, Batalik and Tortuk-Chorbatla areas from across the LoC. This ??reserve force?? is armed with Stinger missiles. The home ministry has informed the government that all measures are being taken to plug the gaps by deploying central paramilitary forces and the state police responsible for maintaining internal security in Jammu and Kashmir. The report also says the mercenaries, directed by the Pakistan army, have switched from guerrilla warfare to a Taliban-type assault to occupy as much territory as possible. Distinguishing the two methods, the report explains that in the initial phases in the mid-90s, the foreign mercenaries adopted guerrilla tactics: hit-and-run operations, targeting civilians and security personnel. But the scenario has changed this time with the aggressors holding on to the territory they have been able to occupy. What is worrying the government is its suspicion that Pakistani agents have infiltrated the lower rung of the intelligence network in the bordering areas of Jammu and Kashmir. There are ??moles?? as well as double agents regularly passing out information. The IB and state intelligence agencies have been asked to be discreet in pinpointing operational areas from which information is being leaked out.