Islamabad, Dec 4 (IANS): The US Sunday began to pull out from Pakistan's Shamsi airbase that had been used by NATO to launch drone attacks in the country's restive northwest, a media report said.

A US aircraft landed at the Shamsi airbase to bring back American officials deployed there, Geo News reported.

Pakistan had set a Dec 11 deadline for the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase following a NATO airstrike that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.

NATO helicopter gunships had targeted two border posts in Mohmand Agency Nov 26, killing two dozen soldiers and sparking outrage in the country.

Islamabad has stopped the passage of NATO supplies through the country to protest the NATO attack.

It has also decided not to attend the Dec 5 Bonn Conference on the future of Afghanistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday: "The US will vacate the airbase by Dec 11."

The US has been using the airbase for nearly a decade for military operations in Afghanistan and drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions.