Wech Baghtu wedding party airstrike

The Wech Baghtu wedding party airstrike refers to the killing of about 37 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, and injuring about 27 others by a United States military airstrike on 3 November 2008. The group was celebrating a wedding at a housing complex in the village of Wech Baghtu, a Taliban stronghold in the Shah Wali Kot District of Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

The airstrike followed a firefight between US troops and Taliban forces stationed on a mountain behind the wedding party. On 7 November 2008, Afghan officials said a joint investigation found that 37 civilians and 26 insurgents were killed in Wech Baghtu. Wedding parties in Afghanistan are segregated by sex; of the civilians, 23 were children, 10 were women, and 4 were men. Another 27 persons were injured, including the bride. The bombing destroyed the housing complex where women and children had gathered to celebrate.

On 5 November 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai responded by demanding that newly-elected US President Barack Obama end civilian deaths, stating, "Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes – this is my first demand of the new president of the United States – to put an end to civilian casualties."