According to a 12-page Pentagon assessment transmitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, United States military operations in Yemen resulted in 153 civilian deaths and 243 injuries. The document, signed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Combating Terrorism Colby Jenkins, outlines the verified casualties stemming from Operation Rough Rider, an aerial campaign authorized by the White House in March 2025.
Operation Rough Rider Casualties and Strikes
The Pentagon report details three specific aerial bombardments conducted during April 2025 in response to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea. According to the document, military reviews established with near certainty that these strikes caused unintended civilian casualties. On April 6, 2025, a strike on a private residence in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa killed 5 civilians and injured 25 others, as reported in the Pentagon files. A subsequent attack on April 17, 2025, targeted the strategic port of Ras Isa, resulting in 80 civilian deaths and 171 injuries. On April 28, 2025, a bombing near a detention facility for African migrants on the outskirts of Saada killed 47 people and wounded 68. An additional 21 deaths occurred during smaller engagements throughout the campaign, which concluded in early May 2025.
Independent tracking figures contrast with official military tallies. According to the Yemen Data Project, across 339 total airstrikes during the mission, civilian deaths reached at least 238—including 24 children—along with 467 injuries. In the wake of these disclosures, international human rights organizations have raised formal concerns. Kristine Beckerle, Middle East and North Africa deputy regional director at Amnesty International, stated that the campaign represented a lethal failure by the United States to respect fundamental obligations under international humanitarian law.
Controversies Over Redress and Oversight Reductions
The Pentagon review determined that compensation payments to the families of victims impacted by the three primary April strikes were not appropriate, though the document provided no specific rationale for this decision. The filing notes that while ex gratia payments can serve as a response to civilian casualties, they are not mandated by law and do not constitute an admission of legal liability.
Simultaneously, internal oversight bodies within the Department of Defense experienced reductions. Data cited in the congressional filing show that staffing levels at the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence dropped from 40 specialists down to 9 operational personnel by the close of the 2025 fiscal year. Funding for civilian harm tracking and prevention across multiple command structures was similarly reorganized or curtailed.
The Pentagon report also encompassed evaluations from Africa Command, reviewing historical strikes in Somalia dating back to 2018 alongside ongoing naval and aerial actions against drug cartels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. These counter-narcotics operations account for 66 incursions and 220 fatalities categorized as narcoterrorists, drawing ongoing scrutiny from congressional oversight committees regarding the rules of engagement and transparency standards.
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