At least 15 alleged militants were killed in a missile attack in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, local TV channel reported Sunday.

A U.S. surveillance plane targeted a house in the North Waziristan area of Shaktoi, where at least 15 militants were killed, the private TV GEO News reported.

The U.S. drone missile shelled a hideout in the same area on Jan. 14, fueling the contradictory reports regarding the killing of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Sources said that the target was a militant compound and the death toll may go up.

There were reports of three to four drones flying in the area while the dead bodies were being removed from the rubble.

After attack against a CIA base in Khost province of Afghanistan, the U.S. has intensified the drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan as the hit was attributed to the militants based in the area.

The Pakistani officials including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi opposes such attacks as they caused anger in local population and could damage relations of Islamabad with Washington.