1986 United States bombing of Libya

Overview

The United States Air Force (USAF), Navy, and Marine Corps carried out air strikes, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, against Libya on 15 April 1986 in retaliation for the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier, which U.S. president Ronald Reagan blamed on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. There were 40 reported Libyan casualties; one U.S. plane was shot down. One of the claimed Libyan deaths was of a baby girl, reported to be Gaddafi's daughter, Hana Gaddafi. However, there are doubts both as to whether she was really killed, or even if she truly existed.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Operation El Dorado Canyon, conducted by U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft on 15 April 1986, was a direct retaliatory strike ordered by President Ronald Reagan in response to the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier, which Reagan attributed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The operation marked one of the most direct U.S. military strikes against a state sponsor of terrorism during the Cold War, signaling that Washington was prepared to use conventional force in response to Libyan-linked attacks on American personnel abroad. One U.S. plane was lost and 40 Libyan casualties were reported. Claims that one of those killed was Gaddafi's infant daughter, Hana Gaddafi, generated significant international attention, though the veracity of both her death and her existence has been disputed. The strike did not end Libyan support for militant activity but established a precedent for unilateral American use of airpower as a counterterrorism instrument within the broader Cold War context.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)