An Afghan military spokesman says elite commando units have freed dozens of prisoners held by the Taliban, including women and children, in an early morning operation in southern Helmand province.

The spokesman, Abdul Qadeir Bahadorzai, says Thursday's operation took place in the district of Kajaki and freed 103 people held in two prisons there run by the Taliban. He says four Taliban fighters were killed in the gunbattle.

Bahadorzai says five women and two children were among the freed captives, most of whom were civilians.

Meanwhile, also in Helmand, a district governor says a suicide car bomber wounded six people, including three policemen, on Thursday morning.

Mohammad Salim Roodi says the attack took place in Girishk district when the police tried to stop a suspicious vehicle outside the governor's compound.