An American drone killed at least six people in Pakistan early Friday morning, in a northwestern region known as a hideout for Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

The strike occurred in the North Waziristan tribal area, near the border with Afghanistan. The identities of the killed aren’t yet known, The New York Times reported. Other media put the death toll at four.

The strikes came as the country celebrated Defense Day, an occasion to remember those who were killed in the 1965 war with India. And as news spread, social media outcry grew, The Times reported.

Opposition leader Imran Khan, who heads up the country’s Tehreek-e-Insaf political party and has long spoken out against American drone strikes, said in a Twitter post that he planned to discuss this latest attack with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a planned Sept. 9 meeting of political heads.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has assured that the drone strike program in Pakistan will end as soon as “we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it,” he said, during an August television broadcast while visiting the nation.

But the strikes continue to anger Pakistan political leaders, and Mr. Khan has led several protests and rallies in recent months at villages in targeted areas.

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