United States military strikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others in 2025, according to a Pentagon assessment released to Congress.
A US official disclosed the figures Tuesday, citing the review, which found that all civilian deaths and injuries recorded by the US military last year stemmed from three strikes in Yemen in April.
The unclassified assessment was obtained by the Associated Press after NBC News first reported its existence.
A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the report publicly, said the department would formally submit the findings to Congress in the coming months.
The toll represents a sharp rise from 2024, when Pentagon data attributed two civilian deaths and two injuries to US operations worldwide.
The April 2025 strikes targeted Houthi positions in and around the rebel‑held capital, Sanaa, and at the Ras Isa fuel port.
The Ras Isa attack was the deadliest, killing 80 people and injuring 171. Witnesses reported massive fireballs and burning tanker trucks, while Houthi‑run Al‑Masirah television broadcast footage showing bodies scattered across the site, reports Al Jazeera.
At the time, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation was intended to cut off a source of fuel and revenue for the Houthis.
“The strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen,” CENTCOM said, adding that US forces acted to deprive the Iran‑backed group of “illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years.”
The Pentagon review, however, concluded the three strikes “more likely than not” caused civilian harm, based on US intelligence, imagery and open‑source reporting.
It also determined that condolence payments to victims or families were not appropriate, without explaining why. Such payments are not legally required and do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing, though they have been offered in past cases including after a US drone strike in Afghanistan mistakenly killed 10 civilians, seven of them children, in 2021.
The final civilian toll from US operations in Yemen may rise further. As of February, CENTCOM was still reviewing 15 additional incidents flagged by nongovernmental organisations.
The findings come amid heightened scrutiny of civilian casualties under President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, a US missile strike on a primary school in Iran during the opening days of the US‑Israel war killed as many as 168 people.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also reduced staffing in a Pentagon office tasked with mitigating civilian harm, according to the Associated Press.
US military action against the Houthis began in 2023 under then‑President Joe Biden, after the group launched drones and missiles at commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said their attacks were intended to pressure Israel over its war in Gaza and to show support for Palestinians.
