Islamabad - Five soldiers were killed on Monday in a suicide bombing at an army check post in Pakistan's restive Swat valley, security officials said.

"A suicide bomber riding a red colour Mazda Datsun (mini truck) hit the post this morning near Gashkor village. Five soldiers were killed while five more troops and three civilians were injured in the attack," district police chief Dilawar Bangash said.

Colonel Nadeem Ahmad, local army spokesman in the district, confirmed the incident and said the blast completely destroyed the security post.

According to Ahmad, helicopter gunships were separately targeting militant positions in the Kabal area of Swat, where government forces have been battling the followers of a radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah for more than a year.

"We have some reports of casualties on the militants' side in the strikes but the numbers are yet to be ascertained,"

Fazlullah waged an armed struggle late 2007 to enforce Taliban rule in Swat valley, which used to be a popular tourist destination.

Islamabad dispatched troops to quell the rebellion. That triggered clashes killing hundreds of people dead and displacing thousands. (dpa)