ISLAMABAD, July 4 (Xinhua) -- A militant commander was reportedly killed and his guard injured in an alleged U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's northwest tribal district North Waziristan, local media reported Wednesday.

The commander and his bodyguard were on foot in Tor Tangai area of the district located along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, when they were attacked by the pilotless aircraft, ARY News reported.

The attacked commander Abdullah Dawar belonged to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a fraction of Pakistani Taliban operated under the leadership of militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur until he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2014. Dawar was the current chief of the group.

This is the first drone strike after the merger of previously semi-autonomous North Waziristan with Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

These missile strikes by the U.S. are highly unpopular in Pakistani public as they kill militants and innocent people including women and kids indiscriminately. Islamabad also condemns such attack, calling them a violation of its sovereignty.