Suspected U.S. drone kills 3 militants in Pakistan: officials By Haji Mujtaba MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at a house on the outskirts of the town of Miranshah in the North Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday, killing at least three militants, local intelligence officials said. There was no independent confirmation of the incident. Militants often dispute official versions of such attacks and death tolls. This is the first such strike since November 17 last year, and could deepen anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan already running high after a November 26 NATO cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Drones armed with missiles have played a significant role in U.S. counter-terrorism operations, as the Obama administration winds down the war in Afghanistan, and Washington's focus expands to militant havens in countries including Pakistan. The United States vacated a remote air base, used to stage classified drone flights against militants, in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province last month. Pakistan had asked U.S. forces to leave the base after the November air strike. U.S. officials say the unmanned drone program decimated the central leadership of al Qaeda and put associated militant groups on the defensive. Many such groups operate in Pakistan's unruly northwestern tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN; Writing by Qasim Nauman; Editing by Louise Ireland