Kabul - A suicide bombing in western Afghanistan killed one police officer and wounded five people while at least seven militants were killed in coalition airstrike in the same region, officials said Monday.

A bomber who had strapped explosives around his body tried to enter a police station Monday in Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province, but was stopped by guards, Governor Gulam Dastagir Azad said.

The bomber scuffled with guards before detonating his explosives, resulting in death of one police officer, Azad said.

Two police officers and three civilians were wounded, said Abdul Rahim Chakhansori, the acting provincial police chief.

Minutes later, a second suicide bomber wearing a police uniform and riding a motorbike was shot dead by police before he could reach the same station, the governor said, adding that the bomber was the only casualty in the second blast.

Monday's incidents were similar to attacks in Kabul this month in which eight suicide bombers stormed three government buildings, killing at least 26 people.

Separately, at least seven Taliban insurgents were killed in a coalition airstrike after they attacked a police post Sunday night in the western province of Badghis, said Abdul Ghani Saberi, deputy provincial governor.

Abdul Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the police forces in western Afghanistan, also confirmed the incident and said the death toll could increase as villagers were still recovering bodies from the bombed area.

The Taliban has vowed to increase its attacks this year while Afghan and NATO forces also predicted a "tougher year" after the weather warms and fighting picks up in = war-ravaged Afghanistan. (dpa)