Libya Bombing (1986)

United States air strikes in 1986 on selected targets in Libya, launched in retaliation for that country's perceived terrorist activities. Ten days before the U.S. attacks on Libya in April 1986, a terrorist bomb exploded in a discotheque in West Berlin frequented by U.S. soldiers. Two hundred people were injured, and two U.S. Army personnel were killed. Based on a series of Libyan messages intercepted by U.S. intelligence, President Ronald Reagan blamed Libyan agents in East Berlin for the explosion, and he approved a retaliatory military action. On the night of April 15, 1986, the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi were bombed by U.S. aircraft.

The Air Strikes

Approximately 100 American planes, some belonging to the U.S. Air Force and some to the U.S. Navy, played an active part in the air strikes against Libya. A part of this impressive air fleet was launched from carriers in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas other aircraft left hours before the raid from bases in England. The actual bombing lasted less than 12 minutes, during which more than 60 tons of munitions were dropped on Libya's capital, Tripoli, and its second-largest city, Benghazi.

The bombs were directed at five specific targets, all military in nature. In addition to targeting housing units of the Libyan army, several of the targeted areas were identified by U.S. intelligence as command centers for Libyan-coordinated international terrorism operations. The Libyan dictator, Colonel Mu'ammar Gadhafi, also lived with his family within the confines of one of the targeted military barracks.

Effects of the Bombing

Dubbed “Operation El Dorado Canyon,” the air raid took the Libyan military completely by surprise. No effective measures had been taken to guard sensitive targets in Libya against a probable U.S. attack. No air raid alarms sounded at the time of the strikes, and the air defense systems of Tripoli and Benghazi were activated only after the U.S. fighter jets had completed their bombing runs.

Although focused on very specific targets, the missiles were not 100% accurate, and the mission caused the death of an estimated 30 civilian Libyans, including Gadhafi's adopted infant daughter. The colonel himself escaped unharmed, however. On the U.S. side, two pilots were killed when their fighter was downed over the Gulf of Sidra, east of Tripoli.

The U.S. air raid drew heavy criticism from all of the Arab countries, as well as the Soviet Union, France, and a number of other nations. From a historical viewpoint, Operation El Dorado Canyon was considered to be the first U.S. military action whose official primary justification was the fight against international terrorism and its sponsors.