Islamabad, July 7 (ANI): Soon after reopening of NATO supply routes into Afghanistan by Pakistan, the United States has launched a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area, killing several suspected militants.

The latest attack is in clear defiance of a Pakistani parliamentary resolution, which called for ending deadly air strikes and a public apology from the US for the unblocking of the supply routes.

According to The Express Tribune, three remotely-piloted US aircraft fired a total of six missiles on a compound belonging to a group of militants, led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, in the Zawai Sedgai area in Datta Khel Tehsil.

The report quoted a Peshawar-based senior security official, as saying that the first strike killed nine militants, and three more were killed in a second attack when militants drove to the site to recover bodies.

According to some officials, the drone struck when the militants had gathered to send fighters to Afghanistan.

The strike came just few days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said 'sorry' to Pakistan over the deaths of over two dozen Pakistani troops at Salala check post in November last year.

According to the paper, Pakistan and the US hope to improve ties after the resumption of NATO supply routes, but drone strikes will continue to remain a bone of contention between the two countries. (ANI)