The Department of War told Congress on Aug. 10 that U.S. airstrikes against the Iran-aligned Houthi terrorist group in Yemen killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others in 2025.
The Pentagon’s report said U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) assessed three operations in Yemen that “more likely than not” resulted in civilian deaths and injuries in 2025. It noted that CENTCOM was still assessing 15 other incidents in response to reports gathered through nongovernmental organizations.
The report came after the U.S. military ended Operation Rough Rider in May 2025 after striking more than 1,000 Houthi targets in Yemen following the disruption of international shipping in the Red Sea. Over a year after the U.S. military strikes, the Houthis attacked an Egyptian-owned cargo ship on Aug. 11 in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key waterway in the Red Sea.
The Aug. 10 report found that 5 civilians were killed and 25 others were injured during an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 6, 2025. A second incident involving civilian harm resulted in 80 civilians being killed and 171 others sustaining injuries during an airstrike at a port in Ras Isa, Yemen, on April 17, 2025. A third U.S. airstrike killed 68 civilians and injured 47 others in Saada, Yemen, on April 28, 2025.
Airwars, a transparency watchdog organization that tracks civilian harm claims in conflicts, previously said that at least 258 civilians may have been killed in U.S. military strikes carried out as part of Operation Rough Rider. It said the strikes nearly doubled the total number of civilian casualties caused by U.S. military action in Yemen since 2002.
Additionally, the Yemen Data Project, a not-for-profit data collection project, reported that at least 238 civilians were killed in Yemen during the U.S. military operation, which it said included 339 strikes.
The Pentagon said CENTCOM’s mission in Yemen was to degrade the capabilities of the Houthi terrorist group and to protect the personnel and interests of the United States in the region. It said the Houthis presented a threat to maritime security in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bad al-Mandeb Strait.
The Pentagon previously confirmed that the U.S. military launched strikes on more than 1,000 targets to degrade the capabilities of the Houthis following the terrorist group’s missile and drone attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea. The U.S. military strikes targeted senior Houthi missile and unmanned aerial vehicle officials.
The Pentagon launched Operation Rough Rider in March 2025 and concluded it in May 2025 after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with the Houthis.
“That was about 45 days of very powerful action we took against the Houthis,” Trump said during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on July 21. He warned that the United States would “take care of business” if the terrorist group threatened international shipping again by imposing a blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
“We’ve done that with the Houthis before, and we haven’t heard from them in a while since we did what we did originally,” Trump said.
The Houthis attacked an Egyptian-owned cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Aug. 11, killing four crew members and two Yemeni rescuers from the National Resistance Forces. The attack came after the terrorist group declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20.
Last year, the Pentagon reported two civilian casualties caused by U.S. military operations in 2024. The casualties included a civilian killed during an airstrike in Al Qaim, Iraq, and a child killed at a classified location near Al-Hasakah, Syria.
Monday’s report on civilian casualties connected to U.S. military operations in 2025 notably did not include any civilian deaths or injuries linked to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) strikes against narco terrorist vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
The Pentagon said SOUTHCOM launched operations in 2025 to “degrade the capabilities of narco-terrorists who threaten the U.S. homeland through targeted strikes and military pressure.” It added that SOUTHCOM’s assessment did not identify any incidents in which civilian casualties likely resulted from U.S. military operations last year.
On Aug. 3, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote a letter to Trump calling for an examination of the strikes and alleging that the U.S. military killed “individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking.” Kaine also referenced public reports indicating that over 220 individuals had been killed in more than 65 strikes under the Trump administration.
In response, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the strike “was conducted against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores.”
“President Trump used his lawful authority to take decisive action against the scourge of illicit narcotics that has resulted in the needless deaths of innocent Americans,” she said.
The Pentagon is required to provide Congress each year with a report detailing civilian casualties connected to U.S. military operations. Congress first mandated the annual report as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The U.S. military is steadfastly committed to limiting harm to civilians, and [Department of War] has a strong record of compliance with the law of war,” the Pentagon said in its latest report to Congress. “As a matter of policy, U.S. forces routinely conduct operations under policy standards that are more protective of civilians than required by the law of war, and we are committed to continuing to improve our approach.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment. The White House referred to the Pentagon, which did not respond in time for publication.
