One Taliban rebel was killed and three policemen were wounded in a clash in Afghanistan's troubled southern Helmand province, provincial police chief Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil said Wednesday.

"The clash erupted when a large number of Taliban militants stormed police checkpoints in Gereshk district Tuesday night to disrupt law and order. Police encountered as a result one rebel was killed and three police were wounded," Mullahkhil told Xinhua.

Militants after three hours of fire exchange were forced to flee away, he said.

Taliban-led insurgency has claimed the lives of more than 2,400 people mostly insurgents since beginning 2006 in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua