US military operations killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others in 2025, according to a Pentagon assessment submitted to the US Congress and cited by a US official on Tuesday.
The figures mark a sharp rise from 2024, when the Pentagon assessed that two civilians were killed and two injured during US military operations.
According to a Reuters report published on Wednesday, the Pentagon concluded that all the civilian deaths and injuries recorded in 2025 were linked to three US strikes carried out in Yemen in April 2025.
The report said US Central Command (CENTCOM) assessed that the strikes “more likely than not” caused civilian harm.
It also disclosed that, as of February 2026, CENTCOM was reviewing 15 additional incidents in Yemen after receiving reports from non-governmental organisations.
The US military has maintained that its operations in Yemen are intended to weaken the capabilities of the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
The Pentagon assessment did not include casualties from US strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
As of February 1, 2026, the report said US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) had found no incidents in which civilian casualties were more likely than not caused by US military operations within its area of responsibility during 2025.
The Trump administration has also conducted strikes against vessels it accuses of transporting narcotics in the Eastern Pacific, describing those targeted as “narco-terrorists.”
According to Reuters’ compilation of official death tolls released after each strike, more than 200 people have been killed in those vessel strikes since September 2025.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticised the vessel strikes, describing them as unlawful extrajudicial killings, while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has argued that the administration’s claims about those targeted are unsubstantiated and fear-mongering.
An independent check by PUNCH Online on Wednesday reportedly confirmed the existence of the 11-page Pentagon report published on war.gov.
