Pakistan has criticised the drone program saying it inflames anti-American sentiment and extremism by killing scores of civilians. — Photo by AFP

MIRAMSHAH: Unmanned US aircraft fired missiles into a home in a tribal region of western Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three militants, local intelligence officials said, in an attack that ended a lengthy pause in US drone strikes.

The officials said the missiles hit in the outskirts of the town of Miramshah in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing at least three. Militants often dispute official versions of such attacks and death tolls.

A source in Washington confirmed that a US-operated drone had been fired at a militant target in Pakistan. The source said that no well-known militants were believed to have been targeted, injured or wounded in the attack.

The strike was the first such attack since Nov 17 and could deepen anti-US sentiment in Pakistan, which was already running high after a Nov 26 cross-border Nato air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

That incident triggered a deep chill in already troubled US-Pakistan relations, prompting Pakistan to close off Nato supply routes into Afghanistan.