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Gulf of Sidra is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 on the northern coast of Libya
Libya

Libya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
; it is also known as Gulf of Sirte. It is located by the city of Sirte
Sirt

Sirt, also Surt and Sirte is a city in Libya, in the Surt Municipality, seat of some important governmental institutions and hometown of the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi....
. In Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 it was known as Syrtis Maior (compare: Syrtis Minor
Syrtis Minor

The Syrtis Minor is the Latin name used in Ancient Rome for the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of North Africa. It spans roughly from modern day Tripoli to Sfax, Tunisia....
).

Tuna
Tuna

Tuna are several species of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tunas are fast swimmers?they have been clocked at 70 km/h ?and include several species that are warm-blooded....
 fishing is of economical importance in the Gulf.

an exclusive fishing zone to 62 nm

The US denies Libya the right to assert the claim and believes Libya has only a standard of a 12-mile (22.2 km) territorial limit
Territorial waters

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state....
 from the country's shore.






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Gulf of Sidra is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 on the northern coast of Libya
Libya

Libya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
; it is also known as Gulf of Sirte. It is located by the city of Sirte
Sirt

Sirt, also Surt and Sirte is a city in Libya, in the Surt Municipality, seat of some important governmental institutions and hometown of the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi....
. In Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 it was known as Syrtis Maior (compare: Syrtis Minor
Syrtis Minor

The Syrtis Minor is the Latin name used in Ancient Rome for the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of North Africa. It spans roughly from modern day Tripoli to Sfax, Tunisia....
).

Tuna
Tuna

Tuna are several species of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tunas are fast swimmers?they have been clocked at 70 km/h ?and include several species that are warm-blooded....
 fishing is of economical importance in the Gulf.

Territorial claim


Libya asserts that the entire gulf is Libyan territory with what is called the Gulf of Sidra closing line — 32 degrees, 30 minutes north with an exclusive fishing zone to 62 nm

The US denies Libya the right to assert the claim and believes Libya has only a standard of a 12-mile (22.2 km) territorial limit
Territorial waters

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state....
 from the country's shore. Libya believes it to be a territorial sea, not just a coastal area. In 1973 this was asserted by Libya's leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi#Name also known as Colonel Gaddafi has been the de facto leader of Libya since a 1969 coup....
 who dubbed it The Line of Death. In the Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)

The first Gulf of Sidra incident, August 19 1981, was an incident in which two Libyan Sukhoi Sukhoi Su-17 Fitter attack aircraft were shot down by two United States F-14 Tomcats off of the Libyan coast....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
-Libya
Libya

Libya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n air engagement over territorial claim, two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter
Sukhoi Su-17

The Sukhoi Su-17 was a Soviet Union attack aircraft developed from the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter-bomber. It enjoyed a long career in Soviet, later Russian, service and was widely exported to Eastern Bloc and Middle Eastern air forces....
 fighter aircraft were shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing aircraft. The F-14 was the United States Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense Interceptor aircraft and tactical reconnaissance platform from 1974 to 2006....
s.

During the 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya
Operation El Dorado Canyon

The United States bombing of Libya comprised the joint United States United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on April 15, 1986....
, due to allegations of a bombing of a German disco
1986 Berlin discotheque bombing

The Berlin discotheque bombing of April 5, 1986 was a terrorist attack on the La Belle discotheque, West Berlin, Germany, that was frequented by U.S....
, USAF captains Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci
Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci

Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci , was an F-111F pilot in the United States Air Force. He was killed during Operation El Dorado Canyon, the April 15, 1986 U.S....
 and Paul F. Lorence
Paul F. Lorence

United States Air Force Captain Paul F. Lorence , a List of aircraft weapons , was killed when his F-111F fighter-bomber, callsign Karma 52, was shot down in action off the coast of Libya, on April 15, 1986....
 died when their F-111 was shot down over the gulf. Later in 1989, during what is referred to as Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)
Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)

The second Gulf of Sidra incident, January 4, 1989, occurred when two United States F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Flogger Es that appeared to be attempting to engage them, as had happened previously in the first Gulf of Sidra incident ....
, two Libyan MiG-23 Flogger Es aircraft were shot down when it was believed they may attack the U.S. fighters that were in the area, as happened in 1981. In this instance, the Flogger pilots were lost when they were fired on and successfully shot down after a series of missile launches.

See also

  • First Battle of Sirte
    First Battle of Sirte

    The First Battle of Sirte was a naval battle between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina during the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II....
    , World War II
    World War II

    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
     naval battle between Regia Marina
    Regia Marina

    The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
     and Royal Navy
    Royal Navy

    The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
     in December 1941.
  • Second Battle of Sirte
    Second Battle of Sirte

    The Second Battle of Sirte was a naval battle between most of the escorting warships of a British convoy and the bulk of an Regia Marina squadron....
    , World War II
    World War II

    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
     naval battle between Regia Marina
    Regia Marina

    The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
     and Royal Navy
    Royal Navy

    The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
     in March 1942.
  • Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
    Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)

    The first Gulf of Sidra incident, August 19 1981, was an incident in which two Libyan Sukhoi Sukhoi Su-17 Fitter attack aircraft were shot down by two United States F-14 Tomcats off of the Libyan coast....
    , US
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
    -Libya
    Libya

    Libya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
    n air engagement over territorial claim, two Libyan jets shot down
  • Operation Attain Document
    Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)

    In the spring of 1986, the US Navy deployed aircraft carrier groups into the Mediterranean Sea, specifically the disputed Gulf of Sidra. Libya claimed that the entire Gulf is their territory, 32 degrees, 30 minutes north with an exclusive fishing zone, Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi asserted this in 1973 and dubbed it The Line of Death....
    , was a series of air strikes against Libyan naval and air defense targets in the spring of 1986 prior to Operation El Dorado Canyon.
  • Operation El Dorado Canyon
    Operation El Dorado Canyon

    The United States bombing of Libya comprised the joint United States United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on April 15, 1986....
     in 1986, was a series of Freedom of Navigation
    Freedom of Navigation

    The United States' Freedom of Navigation program challenges territorial claims on the world's oceans and airspace that are considered excessive by the United States, using diplomatic protests and/or by interference....
     operations by US Naval Forces.
  • Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)
    Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)

    The second Gulf of Sidra incident, January 4, 1989, occurred when two United States F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Flogger Es that appeared to be attempting to engage them, as had happened previously in the first Gulf of Sidra incident ....
    , US-Libyan air engagement over territorial claim, two Libyan jets shot down by two US Tomcats