Pentagon admits 153 civilians killed in US military operations
During 'Operation Rough Rider' against the Houthis, US military strikes last year resulted in 153 civilian deaths.
The Pentagon has acknowledged that in 2025, 153 innocent civilians were killed and more than 240 people were injured in American military operations. The Pentagon stated that all these civilian deaths and injuries were linked to three airstrikes conducted in Yemen.
CBS reports that these recently released figures do not include deaths from American airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. These figures have emerged at a time when the Pentagon is conducting a broad military campaign against Iran that began this year.
According to a report submitted to the US Congress late Monday night and obtained by CBS News, during the ‘Operation Rough Rider’ against the Houthis in Yemen, American military strikes last year killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others. Between March and May 2025, the US military bombed sites linked to the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen. The declared objective was to prevent the Houthis from attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea.
According to the report,
It is more likely that where innocent civilians were killed during military operations, the US military did not visit the sites to assess these incidents nor interviewed eyewitnesses. The assessment relied on US intelligence, photographs, and publicly available reporting.
It is noteworthy that on April 6, 5 civilians were killed near the Yemeni capital Sanaa. On April 17, 80 civilians were killed near Ras Isa port. On April 28, 68 civilians were killed near Saada. NBC News and The Washington Post were the first to publish details of these assessments. The organization Airwars, which monitors civilian harm in wars, reported last year that at least 258 civilians may have been killed in Operation Rough Rider. The Pentagon's report confirmed a significantly lower number of 153 deaths. However, the report also mentioned that by the beginning of this year, the US military was assessing 15 other incidents in Yemen. Information about these incidents was obtained from non-governmental organizations.
The Pentagon's report is significant in that it does not include some incidents. Deaths in controversial US attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans are not included. These attacks resulted in about 120 deaths last year and about 95 this year. The Trump administration claims that these attacks on boats, which began in September 2025, target drug traffickers linked to cartels that the administration considers terrorist groups.
However, some legal experts argue that these attacks may be akin to unlawful and extrajudicial killings. They argue that the US military cannot deliberately target civilians. Suspected individuals involved in criminal activities cannot be targeted by military strikes unless they fall within the legal standards governing the use of military force.
In the 2018 annual defense policy law, the US Congress mandated the Pentagon to report on civilian deaths in military operations from the previous year. In the first year of reporting, 2017, approximately 500 civilians were killed in US military operations. After the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, this number significantly decreased. Only one civilian death was recorded in 2023 and two in 2024. However, due to the large-scale US military campaign against the Houthis, this number increased rapidly in 2025. The report's opening statement says that the US military is committed to limiting civilian harm and has a strong record of adhering to the laws of war.
This year's civilian death figures have come at a time when another Pentagon report has indicated that the Pentagon has cut the budget and staff of the US military's extensive Civilian Harm Mitigation Program to reduce civilian harm during military operations. However, regarding civilian safety, Defense Secretary Hegseth told Congress this year that the US military never targets civilians and makes arrangements to avoid civilian harm as much as possible. But the Pentagon has made significant cuts not only to this center but also to the broader civilian protection program established in 2022.