US military operations killed 153 civilians and wounded another 243 in 2025, marking a sharp increase from the previous year, according to a Pentagon assessment cited by a US official.
The figures were included in a report submitted to Congress assessing civilian casualties resulting from US military operations.
In 2024, the Pentagon assessed that US operations had killed two civilians and injured two others.
Yemen strikes accounted for casualties
According to the Pentagon report, all civilian deaths and injuries recorded in 2025 resulted from three US strikes in Yemen in April.
The US Central Command assessed that the three strikes were “more likely than not” to have caused civilian harm.
The Pentagon said it was also reviewing 15 other incidents in Yemen as of February 2026 following reports submitted by non-governmental organisations.
US officials have said military operations in Yemen were intended to weaken the capabilities of Iran-backed Houthi fighters.
Drug vessel strikes excluded from assessment
The Pentagon's assessment did not include casualties resulting from US strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
The Trump administration has carried out attacks against vessels it accused of transporting narcotics, describing those targeted as “narco-terrorists”.
More than 200 people have been killed in the strikes since September 2025, according to tallies published following the attacks.
US Southern Command, meanwhile, found no incidents in its area of responsibility in 2025 where civilian casualties were assessed as more likely than not to have resulted from US military operations.
Rights groups challenge US claims
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have described the strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels as unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The American Civil Liberties Union has also criticised the administration's characterisation of those targeted, arguing that the US government has not provided sufficient evidence to substantiate its claims.
