A policeman died on Monday and four were injured when a bomb exploded as they were clearing a roadblock erected by suspected Maoist rebels in western Nepal, police said.
The army, meanwhile, said in a statement received Monday that three Maoist rebels were killed in two incidents in the troubled Himalayan kingdom at the weekend.
The rebels have threatened to increase attacks in the run-up to Wednesday's local elections, which King Gyanendra's government insisted would go ahead despite claims the poll is aimed at justifying his seizure of full power one year ago.
"An armed police force officer was killed and four others were wounded when a bomb went off while they were trying to clear a roadblock," said a police officer from Kailali, some 660 kilometres west of Kathmandu.
The army statement said two rebels blew themselves up when making bombs in the Sunsari district of eastern Nepal on Saturday. Two civilians were also injured.
In far west Nepal, a Maoist was killed on Sunday night during "security actions", the army statement said.
Since the rebels ended their unilateral ceasefire in early January, at least 127 people have been killed, according to reports compiled from official reports by the agency.
Since the start of their "people's war" a decade ago, some 12,500 people have been killed in Nepal.
{{/usCountry}}Since the start of their "people's war" a decade ago, some 12,500 people have been killed in Nepal.
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