KOHAT, Feb 9: At least 15 tribesmen were killed and six injured when a mortar shell exploded in a market in a village in Darra Adam Khel on Monday.

The area is inhabited mostly by Zarghunkhel tribesmen.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Kohat and Peshawar.

Tribesmen placed the dead bodies on the road and blocked the Indus Highway between Kohat and Peshawar. They alleged that it was a stray army shell, which had caused the havoc.

DCO Siraj Ahmed told the tribesmen that he had discussed the issue with senior army officials and they denied that the shell had been fired by troops.

An officer told DawnNews that it could not be a stray shell because the army was attacking militants’ hideouts four kilometers west of Darra Adamkhel.

He said: “We are trying to obtain pieces of the object that was fired … to prove that the allegations are wrong.

“Taliban want to create a rift between security forces and tribesmen and this is one of their ploys. The army will probe the issue to the satisfaction of the tribesmen,” he said.

Also on Monday, a soldier was killed near the Rahimkhel area of Darra Adamkhel by a rocket fired by militants.

Militants also fired rockets on Kohat. One rocket landed near the KDA Grid Station in Janglekhel and another in the Army Golf Ground. No damage was reported.