Pentagon: 153 civilians killed in U.S. operations in 2025, report says
Pentagon report to Congress records 153 civilian deaths and 243 wounded in 2025, nearly all tied to three airstrikes in Yemen.
The Pentagon told the U.S. Congress that 153 civilians were killed and 243 wounded in American military operations during 2025, an official said on the day the department's annual report was released.
According to the report, every recorded civilian casualty in 2025 resulted from three U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, where American forces have carried out missions intended to degrade the military capabilities of Houthi fighters backed by Iran.
These figures mark a dramatic rise from the previous year, when U.S. military operations registered two civilians killed and two wounded.
Scope and exclusions of the report
The Department of Defense's annual report does not include victims from U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, where American forces have targeted vessels they say are carrying drugs and whose crews are described as "narco-terrorists."
Publicly available data published after each of those maritime operations show that, through September 2025, more than 200 people were killed at sea.
The reporting requirement dates to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which ordered the Pentagon to submit the so-called "1057" reports on civilian harm from U.S. military operations. In the first year of mandatory reporting, 2017, nearly 500 civilians were killed. The number fell sharply after the withdrawal from Afghanistan — to one killed in 2023 and two in 2024 — before climbing again following last year's large operation against the Houthis.
Human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have judged the attacks on civilian and commercial vessels unlawful and said they violate international law. The report itself states, "The U.S. military is firmly committed to minimizing harm to civilians, and the Department of Defense has strong results in complying with the laws of war."
Separately, the Pentagon has ordered the defense industry to urgently increase weapons production.
Photo: EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW
