Pat Dollard | Young Americans

A suicide bomber attacked a military checkpoint in North Waziristan, killing three government soldiers about two miles from the scene of a U.S. missile attack that had killed a top al-Qaida commander, officials said Friday.

Five other soldiers were wounded in Friday’s attack, a military spokesman said. The suicide bombing broke a unilateral cease-fire declared by militants in the area a couple of months ago.

The death of Abu Laith al-Libi was reported Thursday on Islamic extremist Web sites and confirmed by an American official, who said the veteran al-Qaida leader died when a missile from a U.S. Predator drone struck a compound in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region late Monday.

The U.S. missile strike marked a significant victory for the U.S. in its battle against the terror network.