PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A Pakistani government official says an explosion has killed 10 members of a family in a remote tribal region in the country's northwest along the Afghan border.

Tahir Khan says Monday's explosion was from a suspected artillery shell that stored in the house in the village of Dars in the Tirah Valley. The valley is located in the Khyber tribal region.

Khan says the dead included women and children.

The valley had been a hotbed for Islamic militants until the Pakistan army captured it last year in fierce fighting.

Pakistani villagers in tribal regions have been known to keep remnants of exploded munitions and even unexploded shells in their homes, which has caused similar incidents in the past.