Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A Pentagon review has found that US airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last year killed more than 150 civilians, adding to rising concern over civilian casualties during military campaigns under the Trump administration.
The unclassified assessment, obtained by The Associated Press, was sent to Congress as part of an annual report on civilian casualties and was first reported by NBC News. A Pentagon official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the department will submit the report in the coming months and had nothing further to announce.
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The review examined three airstrikes in April 2025 during the US campaign against the Houthis, who had been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, a major global trade route leading to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, as well as Israel. The strikes targeted hostile forces in or near Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and the Ras Isa port, the report said.
According to the assessment, 153 civilians were killed and 243 were injured in the three strikes. The deadliest was the strike on Ras Isa port, which killed 80 people and injured 171 others. The attack sent massive fireballs into the air and left tanker trucks as burning wrecks. The Houthis later aired graphic footage of the aftermath on their al-Masirah satellite news channel, showing bodies scattered across the port.
At the time, US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said the strike was not aimed at civilians. “The strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen,” it said. In a statement issued in April 2025, the command added: “US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years.”
The review said the command determined that the three strikes “more likely than not” caused civilian harm. It said the finding was based on US intelligence sources, imagery and open-source reporting. Civilian casualties from US military operations have come under scrutiny, including from lawmakers in Congress, after a US missile hit an Iranian primary school in the opening days of this year’s war, killing up to 168 people. The AP has also reported that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is said to have cut the size of an office focused on reducing civilian harm.
The Pentagon assessment comes as the Houthis step up attacks on government forces in Yemen, oil facilities in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which backs the Yemeni government, and the kingdom’s shipping in the Red Sea. The report underlines the cost of the April 2025 strikes even as fears grow that the renewed violence could restart Yemen’s civil war after a 2022 truce and open a new front in the wider Middle East war.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
