1986 United States bombing of Libya
| 1986 United States bombing of Libya (Operation El Dorado Canyon) | |||||||||
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| Part of the Cold War | |||||||||
An American 48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F aircraft takes off from RAF Lakenheath in April 1986 to participate in an air strike against Libya. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United States | Libya | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Ronald Reagan Caspar Weinberger | Muammar Gaddafi | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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1 F-111 shot down 2 aircrew killed Libyan claim: 3 aircraft shot down |
45 soldiers and officials killed 3–5 IL-76s destroyed 14 MiG-23s destroyed 2 helicopters destroyed 5 major ground radars destroyed | ||||||||
| 15–30 Libyan civilians killed | |||||||||
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Affiliations Military (Armed Forces) Leadership (History)
Elections and referendums |
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The United States Air Force, 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.