US Bombing of Tripoli — Operation El Dorado Canyon
On 15 April 1986, US Air Force F-111s and Navy A-6s struck targets in Tripoli and Benghazi in a 12-minute operation codenamed El Dorado Canyon — the first US offensive military action against Libya. The raid was ordered by President Reagan in direct retaliation for the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin on 5 April, which killed 3 people including 2 US soldiers and injured 229. US intelligence had intercepted Libyan diplomatic cables ordering the attack. Targets included Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli, where one bomb struck a building near his tent; official Libyan reports claimed his adopted daughter Hana was killed. The strikes killed approximately 45 Libyan military and civilian personnel. Britain allowed the F-111s to fly from UK bases; France and Spain refused overflight rights, forcing a 2,800-mile detour around the Iberian Peninsula.
- Year: 1986 CE
