Warsaw - Prosecutors claim to have strong evidence that seven Polish soldiers unlawfully killed civilians in the Afghan village of Nangar Khel, according to an indictment that reached the capital's Military District Court on Wednesday.

The prosecutors said an investigation showed the villagers were not a threat and the soldiers knew they were firing at buildings that contained civilians.

The incident occurred after the Polish soldiers came under fire from Taliban forces, and one Polish vehicle was hit in the exchange. But later the situation had calmed enough for the soldiers to begin cooking a meal, prosecutors said.

In the meantime, one group began firing on Nangar Khel with machine guns and then threw grenades, even though the residents posed no threat, prosecutors added.

Six people died - including two women and three children - and three more were injured in the shooting, which occurred in August 2007.

Prosecutors commended an officer who refused to carry out the order, and another who attempted to stop it. But they gave no weight to the soldiers' claim that they'd misfired because of faulty mortar and ammunition.

The defence called for another investigation, Polish Radio reported, and claims the first investigation was conducted at the wrong spot. (dpa)