A U.S. drone strike killed the second-in-command of the Pakistan Taliban in the North Waziristan region of the country on Wednesday, three security officials said, in what would be a major blow to the militancy.

The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman, in the first such reported use of a U.S. drone since President Barack Obama announced last week that the United States was scaling back the drone program.

Wali-ur-Rehman had been poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a senior army official based in the South Waziristan region, had said in December.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate entity allied to the Afghan Taliban and have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.

The White House said Wali-ur-Rehman was wanted in the killing of seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer in a 2009 suicide bombing b