A 2007 incident in which Polish ISAF soldiers killed six Afghan civilians, including children, after an IED ambush, with all seven court-martialed soldiers later acquitted.
Key Facts
- Date
- August 16, 2007
- Civilian deaths
- 6 people
- Civilians injured
- 3 women seriously injured
- Victims included
- 1 pregnant woman and 3 children
- Soldiers court-martialed
- 7
- Convictions
- 0 — all acquitted
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On August 16, 2007, an insurgent IED ambush damaged a Polish KTO Rosomak armored vehicle in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Polish soldiers from the 18th Airborne-Assault Battalion, deployed as part of the International Security Assistance Force, responded to the attack in the vicinity of the village of Nangar Khel.
Hours after the ambush, Polish soldiers opened heavy machine gun and 60 mm mortar fire into the area of the village of Nangar Khel. The attack killed six civilians, among them a pregnant woman and three children, and seriously wounded three other women. No combatants were reported among the casualties.
Seven Polish soldiers were charged and court-martialed in connection with the killings, but all were ultimately acquitted. The incident drew international attention to the conduct of ISAF forces in Afghanistan and raised questions about rules of engagement and accountability for civilian harm during military operations.