Video: 'CBS News - Attack on Libya - 1986-04-14 - 1 of 3' (7:30 p.m. EDT)

(Tuesday, April 15, 1986, shortly before 2:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during the 1986 United States bombing of Libya) — United States warplanes struck military and government targets in Libya early this morning in a punitive air raid ordered by President Ronald Reagan in retaliation for a terrorist bombing in West Berlin that killed an American serviceman and wounded dozens of others.

Video: 'CBS News - Attack on Libya - 1986-04-14 - 2 of 3' (8:34 p.m. EDT)

The air assault, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, was carried out by aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. American F-111 fighter-bombers flew from bases in Britain, including RAF Lakenheath, while Navy aircraft launched from carriers in the Mediterranean.

U.S. officials said the attacks were aimed at Libyan command centers, airfields and air defense installations linked to terrorist operations sponsored by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Reagan said intelligence information tied Libya directly to the April 5 bombing of a West Berlin discotheque frequented by American military personnel.

“This was a necessary act of self-defense,” Reagan said, accusing Gaddafi of waging a campaign of international terrorism against the United States and its allies.

Video: 'CBS News - Attack on Libya - 1986-04-14 - 3 of 3' (9:00 p.m. EDT)

Libya reported at least 45 soldiers and government officials killed in the strikes, along with 15 civilians, including a baby girl Libyan officials claimed was Gaddafi’s adopted daughter, Hana Gaddafi. U.S. officials later said there were doubts about the child’s death and even about her existence.

Video: 'ABC News: Images of the 80s' (Apr. 15, 1986, at 11:28)

The Pentagon said one U.S. F-111 aircraft was shot down, killing its two-member crew. Libya claimed it shot down three American aircraft, a claim denied by U.S. officials.

American military sources said the raid destroyed or damaged multiple Libyan targets, including five major ground radar installations, 14 MiG-23 fighter jets, three to five IL-76 transport aircraft, and several helicopters. The strikes also disrupted Libya’s ability to respond with Scud missiles, U.S. officials said.

Video: 'Deep Intel on America's 12-Minute War with Libya'

Libyan leader Gaddafi survived the attack, though Libyan officials acknowledged the strikes came close to residential compounds used by the regime. A Libyan attempt to retaliate with missile launches failed, according to U.S. military assessments.

The bombing marked one of the most dramatic U.S. military actions of the Cold War era and drew sharp reactions worldwide. Several U.S. allies expressed concern over the escalation, while others supported Washington’s right to defend itself against terrorism.

Video: 'NBC News Presents The 80s' (Apr. 15, 1986, at 12:56)

In the aftermath of the raid, Libya announced a change to the country’s formal name, from the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, a move widely seen as symbolic.

The attack underscored the Reagan administration’s stated policy of responding militarily to state-sponsored terrorism and signaled that the United States was prepared to strike directly at foreign governments it held responsible for attacks on Americans.