The U.S. military killed 153 civilians and injured more than 200 in three strikes in Yemen last year, according to a Pentagon assessment that offers new details about the civilian toll of the Trump administration’s campaign against Houthi rebels.
The civilian casualties occurred during three U.S. strikes in April 2025, according to the assessment, which was transmitted to congressional defense committees on Monday and obtained by multiple outlets. The Pentagon is still reviewing 15 other incidents in Yemen for possible civilian casualties.
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The findings mark the Pentagon’s first acknowledgment of the scale of civilian deaths caused by the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran-backed Houthis, which President Donald Trump ordered in March 2025 in an effort to stop attacks on commercial and military vessels in and around the Red Sea.
The 53-day campaign dubbed “Operation Rough Rider” targeted Houthi leaders, weapons systems, and other military infrastructure across Yemen. The civilians were killed in strikes that took place on April 6, 17, and 28. U.S. forces struck more than 1,000 targets before Trump announced in early May that the Houthis had agreed to stop attacking shops and the U.S. would halt its strikes.
In the report, the Pentagon claimed U.S. forces are “steadfastly committed to limiting harm to civilians, and DoW has a strong record of compliance with the law of war,” according to reporting by the Hill.
The report on U.S. strikes in Yemen comes as the War Department is under Democrats’ scrutiny over a deadly school bombing in the opening days of the Iran war. On Feb. 28, the first day of Operation Epic Fury, missiles destroyed an Iranian girls’ elementary school in Minab, killing around 175 people, most of whom were children.
Reporting by the New York Times suggested a U.S. Tomahawk missile was responsible for the strike. While the incident is still under investigation, U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper in May told the House Armed Services Committee that the school was on an “active IRGC cruise missile base,” referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Additionally, under the leadership of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence has seen significant staffing cuts.
The center employs civilian, military, and contractors who oversee efforts to mitigate civilian casualties in U.S. military operations. A report from late July said the center was reduced to just nine employees, two of whom are service members.
