( dpa ) - At least six soldiers were killed on Friday in a suicide attack in Pakistan's tribal region where a senior al-Qaeda operative Abu Laith al-Libi was killed four days before, officials said.
A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a security checkpost in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district, a security official said on condition of anonymity. Ten security personnel were also injured in the bombing.
The attack came four days after a dozen militants were killed in a missile attack at a house in the outskirts of Mir Ali. Some media reports suggested the target of the strike were al-Qaeda leaders Abu Laith al-Libi and Obaidah al-Masri.
Libi's death was announced Thursday on an al-Qaeda affiliated site, al-Ekhaas, while an American official said the terrorist died when a missile fired by a US predator drone hit a house in Pakistan's tribal area.
Pakistani authorities on Friday refused to confirm the incident.
"We cannot confirm al-Libi's death because the militants had removed bodies from the site where the explosion happened and the security personnel did not find any corpse," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told reporters in Islamabad.
The death of the 41-year-old militant has been described by security officials as a "serious blow' to al-Qaeda organization.
North Waziristan has al-Qaeda and Taliban hideouts from where they launch crossborder attacks on international troops in Afghanistan.
