WARSAW, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Polish soldiers killed several Afghan civilians in a clash with insurgents last week, Poland's defence ministry said on Wednesday.

"As a result of an exchange of fire between the terrorists and our soldiers, there have been some casualties among civilians," the ministry said in a statement.

The incident took place on Aug. 16 in the southeastern province of Patika, close to the Pakistani border.Poland has some 1,100 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission.

A ministry spokesman told Polish television that "several civilians" were killed but declined to give the exact number.

A special commission will investigate the incident, the statement said.

Civilian deaths are a sensitive issue for foreign forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. More than 350 civilians have been killed in operations by foreign forces this year, according to government officials and aid workers.

Afghan and Western officials accuse the Taliban of deliberately courting civilian deaths by launching attacks from ordinary homes and carrying out indiscriminate bomb attacks.

"Terrorists who attack the coalition forces do not care about the civilian casualties and put their lives in danger," the Polish ministry said in the statement.

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