Nangar Khel incident The Nangar Khel incident , sometimes called the Nangar Khel massacre , took place in the Afghan village of Nangar Khel ( Paktika Province ) on August 16 , 2007 . Following an insurgent IED ambush which injured two soldiers from another Polish patrol in the area , a patrol of Polish soldiers from the elite 18th Airborne - Assault Battalion taking part in the International Security Assistance Force responded with heavy machine gun fire and fired a 60 mm mortar at the village . The attack resulted in the deaths of six civilians , including a pregnant woman and three children , and seriously injured three other women . Incident . According to the military report D9 161030z of the Afghan War Diary , the patrol fired 26 mortar rounds , of which three landed in a compound where a wedding celebration was taking place . The villagers stated that there was no shooting coming from the village when the mortars were fired there , while the Polish soldiers stated that they had fired a machine gun at four people near the village , who in turn fired back . The villagers stated that the Polish soldiers should have come to the village to ask for information regarding Taliban fighters planting of IED s , since the villagers were opposed to Talibs ' operations near their village . That evening and the following day , the Provincial Reconstruction Team and Polish soldiers planned " consequence management " , including contact with the villagers , gifts of food and supplies , the purchase of a goat for the villagers as a goodwill gesture , and regular visits to the village in order to build " trust and rapport with the villagers " . Families of the victims were later paid compensation , while the injured Afghans were flown to be treated for their wounds in a hospital in Poland . Trial . On July 6 , 2008 , prosecutors ended the investigation and sent an indictment against seven soldiers of the Charlie combat team ( two officers , two non - commissioned officers and three privates ) to the Warsaw ' s Military District Court , accusing them of committing a war crime of unlawfully targeting civilians in a reprisal . Captain Olgierd C . and his men all say they are innocent . Six of them ( accused of killing civilians ) , if found guilty , would face a penalty of 12 to 25 years in prison to even life imprisonment , while another one ( accused of opening fire on an unarmed target ) faces up to 25 years in prison . According to spokesperson for the Court , " It ' s a unique trial , not only in Poland but also in Europe or even in the world . " Nevertheless , the case was given little attention in foreign media . The trial began in February 2009 . In May , Polish Minister of Defense Bogdan Klich gave a testimony in which he called the incident " a mistake " , citing opinion of commander of the U . S . forces in the area . The soldiers have also gained support from many military officers and celebrities , including General Sławomir Petelicki , the founder and first commander of the Polish special forces unit GROM . On June 1 , 2011 , the Warsaw District Court acquitted all seven soldiers for lack of evidence of deliberate killing . The court described the case as unprecedented in the history of the Polish military and judiciary . The prosecution has the right of appeal against the verdict . Re - trial 2012 . Poland ' s highest court opened a new trial for seven Polish soldiers in 2012 . Prosecutors said that they are convinced that war crimes were committed . The first ruling " should not stand , " prosecutor Jan Zak said . In 2013 trial was still in court , especially case of ppor . ( lower OF - 1 Nato code rank ) Bywalec , chor . ( OR - 8 Nato code ) Andrzej Osiecki , plut . rezerwy ( OR - 4 higher , but reserve status - " rezerwy " ) Tomasz Borysiewicz and Ligocki , was send to be examined by the Supreme Court , because there were doubts about their " innocent " status .