United States intervention in Libya (2015–2019)
| United States intervention in Libya | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the International campaign against ISIL, Second Libyan Civil War, Operation Inherent Resolve and the war on terror | |||||||
An AV-8B Harrier assigned to the 22nd MEU aboard USS Wasp taking part in Operation Odyssey Lightning on 11 August 2016. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Jordan |
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Donald Trump (until 2019) Barack Obama (until 2017) Fayez al-Sarraj Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi (until 2018) |
Abu Nabil al-Anbari † Abdul Qader al-Najdi Abu Hudhayfah al-Muhajir | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 10,000+ militants (in 2016) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed (non-combat) | 1,552 fighters killed | ||||||
| 637–930 civilians killed | |||||||
From November 2015 to 2019, the United States and allies carried out a large series of both airstrikes and drone strikes to intervene in Libya during the country's ongoing civil war that erupted following the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. The intervention was conducted in support of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and primarily targeted the ISIL presence in the region, which had exploited Libya's political fragmentation and security vacuum to establish a significant foothold in the country. By 2019, the ISIL branch had been largely driven from holding Libyan territory, and US strikes ceased.