Pentagon Review: 153 Civilians Killed, 243 Wounded in 2025 Yemen Strikes

A Pentagon internal review concluded that U.S. strikes in Yemen during 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, which cited copies of the analysis.

The assessment identified three strikes in April 2025 as the principal incidents responsible for those casualties and said 15 additional incidents remain under review. The review covered only U.S. military operations in 2025 and did not evaluate civilian harm that may be linked to U.S. strikes on Iran in 2026.

Key Findings

Casualties: The review attributes 153 civilian deaths and 243 injuries to U.S. strikes in Yemen in 2025.

Incidents Under Review: Three April 2025 attacks were named as the sources of the reported casualties, while 15 other incidents are still being examined.

Scope: The analysis was limited to operations conducted in 2025 and explicitly excluded an assessment of 2026 strikes on Iran.

Other Regions: In the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific — where the military has carried out widely scrutinized strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels — the report found "no incidents in which civilian casualties more likely than not resulted from U.S. military operations."

The Pentagon declined to comment to The Washington Post and did not immediately respond to The Wall Street Journal's request for comment. Both newspapers reported the findings after reviewing a copy of the internal analysis.

Why It Matters

These findings add to continuing scrutiny of U.S. air operations and the processes used to assess and mitigate civilian harm. The identification of specific incidents and the fact that 15 others remain under review suggest further investigation and possible policy or procedural responses may follow.