Pentagon Reports 153 Civilian Deaths in 2025 Military Operations

The report submitted to Congress identifies three specific strikes in Yemen during April 2025 as the primary source of these casualties. US Central Command concluded it was more likely than not that these engagements caused civilian harm. Officials are currently reviewing 15 additional reports of civilian impact in Yemen submitted by non-governmental organizations as of February 2026.

While the Pentagon acknowledges these losses in Yemen, the official report excludes casualties linked to interdiction operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. US Southern Command maintains that no incidents in its area of responsibility resulted in civilian deaths during 2025. This stance faces direct opposition from human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who describe US strikes on vessels in the Eastern Pacific as unlawful extrajudicial killings. Since September 2025, those specific naval operations have claimed more than 200 lives, a tally the Trump administration defends by labeling its targets as narco-terrorists despite skepticism from civil liberties advocates.