LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- One Afghan police officer and three militants have been killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, authorities said Thursday.

In one incident, Taliban gunmen riding a motorcycle shot dead a police officer in Police District 7 of provincial capital Lashkar Gah early Thursday, provincial government spokesman Omar Zwak told Xinhua.

The assailants fled the scene after the shooting and relatives of the slain officer were notified, the spokesman added.

In neighboring Garmser district, three militants were killed and four others wounded after Afghan Air Force struck a Taliban's position Wednesday night, Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The precise strike was launched based on a confirmed tip that showed the targeted militants tried to attack security forces' checkpoints in the desert district," the statement said.

Among those killed was a local Taliban leader named Shakir Aqa, the statement said, adding a weapons' depot, a vehicle, three motorcycles, five AK-47 guns and two heavy guns were also destroyed by the sortie.

The Taliban militants have tried to overrun small towns or districts across Afghanistan and consolidate their position since the signing of a Taliban-U.S. peace agreement in late February.

The militants have intensified attacks, frequently launching hit-and-run ambushes against security forces.