US strikes in Yemen killed 153 civilians last year, 15 strikes under probe: Defense Department

The Department of Defense has said that US strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen killed 153 civilians and injured 243 last year, according to The Hill.

In a report to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Department of Defense said that at least three strikes during the American campaign against the Houthis last year “more likely than not” caused civilian casualties.

Most of the deaths were not the result of collateral damage from strikes on military facilities, but stemmed from strikes on civilian settlements, comparable to the US strike on the girls’ school in Iran in which at least 120 children were killed.

At the instruction of President Donald Trump, the US military launched ‘Operation Rough Rider’ against the Houthis in March 2025 in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The campaign lasted for around three months and included dozens of rounds of strikes across Yemen.

The three strikes flagged in the DoD report were conducted on April 6 last year, April 17, and April 28.

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In the first instance, the US military struck a residence in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing five civilians and injuring 25.

In the second instance, the US military killed at least 80 civilians and injured 171 in a strike during the bombardment of Ras Isa port.

Last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) flagged the strike as an apparent war crime and said at least 84 people were killed and more than 150 were injured.

In the third instance, a US air strike in the vicinity of Saada killed 47 civilians and injured 68.

Overall, 15 strikes carried out during the campaign are under review by the Department of Defense, according to the report.

Actual civilian deaths from US strikes in Yemen could be much higher

The actual toll from US strikes in Yemen last year could be much higher, with the non-profit Yemen Data Project saying that the US military killed at least 238 civilians, including 24 children, and injured 467 civilians in at least 339 strikes.

Separately, HRW said that the strike on Ras Isa port killed at least 49 port workers, several of whom were truck drivers and at least two of whom were civil defence personnel. It also said that the deceased included at least three children, likely from families of port workers living on site.

HRW said that the decision to strike Ras Isa port when hundreds of workers were at the site “demonstrates a callous disregard for civilians”.

“At a time when the majority of Yemenis don’t have adequate access to food and water, the attack’s impact on humanitarian aid could be enormous, particularly after Trump administration aid cutbacks,” HRW further said.

HRW noted that Ras Isa port processes around 70 per cent of Yemen’s commercial imports and 80 per cent of its humanitarian assistance, and that strikes intended to disable the port were bound to worsen the humanitarian crisis in the country.