Kabul, March 16 (IANS): Five people, including three civilians, lost their lives and five others sustained injuries when a suicide car bomb rocked the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand on Monday, an official said.

"A terrorist riding in an explosives-laden car blew it up next to a police checkpoint outside provincial capital Lashkar Gah at 4.50 p.m. today (Monday), killing himself and four others including two policemen and two civilians," Omar Zawak, spokesman for the provincial government, told Xinhua news agency.

Earlier, Xinhua cited a security official who declined to be named as saying that six people, including the bomber, were killed .

The suicide car bombing happened amid the ongoing Afghan security forces' operations in parts of the restive Helmand province.

Notorious for growing poppy and militancy, Helmand has been regarded as a Taliban hotbed in the conflict-hit nation.

More than 100 Taliban militants, according to security officials, have been killed in Helmand province over the past one month.

A statement of the defence ministry released on Monday said that seven Taliban insurgents in the former Taliban stronghold of Sangin district in Helmand province were killed over the past 24 hours.