US military operations killed 153 civilians in 2025, official says, citing Pentagon assessment

Updated on: August 11, 2026 / 7:13 PM EDT / CBS News Washington — The Pentagon has formally acknowledged that U.S. military operations killed more than 150 innocent civilians and injured over 240 people in 2025, with three airstrikes in Yemen accounting for every casualty the department confirmed. The newly released tally, which did not include any deaths from airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, comes as the Pentagon prosecutes a far broader military operation against Iran that began this year. It also follows cuts to some offices dedicated to mitigating civilian casualties during the tenure of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has vowed to focus on "lethality" rather than "tepid legality." A report submitted to Congress late Monday and obtained by CBS News shows military strikes during the campaign against Yemen's Houthi militia group, named Operation Rough Rider, killed 153 civilians and injured another 243 last year. NBC News and The Washington Post were first to report details on the assessments.

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