A U.S. drone strike killed six suspected Hafiz Gul Bahadar militants and injured two others in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Thursday.

The attack occurred in Datta Khel early Thursday. The NWA government did not yet confirm who were responsible for the drone strike, according to The Nation.

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The incident was the second drone strike that occurred while the Zarb-e-Azb military operation is on-going and the third in NWA since the U.S. campaign resumed in the area following a six-month hiatus. Sources said the drones hit an area 28 miles to the west of Miranshah adjacent to the Afghan border.

U.S. drone missiles hit a mud house in a compound in the Doga Macha Madda Khel village and killed six militants, according to agencies. Four of them were foreign fighters, and the two others were military personnel who escaped from Miranshah. Local security officials said two U.S. drones fired four missiles into the compound and killed the suspected militants.

The said village is located near Datta Khel in a treacherous mountain terrain that the militants were using as a cover, an official told the AFP.

In December, the U.S. drone program was reportedly suspended to allow Islamabad to negotiate with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and put an end to a bloody seven-year insurgency. Unfortunately, an attack at the Karachi airport in early June took the lives of dozens of people, ended the peace efforts and triggered an army offensive.

Days after the deadly Karachi attack, the U.S. drone strikes resumed amidst Pakistani officials' insistence that they have not sanctioned the program.

On Wednesday, General Zafarullah Kha told the AFP that the offensive caused the authorities to regain control of 80 percent of the NWA's main town Miranshah. However, he said clearing the place of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) will take a little more time.

Military media wing head Major General Asim Bajwa said militants turned the town into a supermarket for those who want to shop for guns and explosive devices. He said the place housed shops that sell IEDs, fuses, cords and detonators, and even a training center for suicide bombers.

The military said they managed to recover a total of 23 tons of explosive materials in Miranshah.

TagsU.S. Drones, North Waziristan Agency, Drone strikes