WANA, Feb 13: At least 15 persons were arrested and 600 shops, including 150 in the Wana area, were sealed after the local administration took punitive action against the Yargul Khel and Ahmadzai tribes in connection with the killing of a soldier, officials said here on Friday.

They said that the law enforcement agencies, backed by local Khasaddar Force, launched a massive operation against the tribesmen against these tribes under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

Authorities, sources said, had also sealed 200 shops in the remote Azam Warsak area. Two unidentified motorcyclists had killed an armyman, Badshah Khan, in the Azam Warsak area on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses said that tension prevailed in the area after the action was taken by the authorities. An official said that the administration could not rule out the possibility of terrorism, adding the soldier's murder was being investigated.