Bab al - Azizia Bab al - Azizia ( " " , ) " The Splendid Gate " is a military barracks and compound , situated in the southern suburbs of Tripoli , the capital of Libya . It served as the main base for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until its capture by anti - Gaddafi forces on 23 August 2011 , during the Battle of Tripoli in the Libyan Civil War . The base is strategically located south of Tripoli City Centre at the northern end of Airport Highway , allowing easy access to government assets within the city , as well as direct high - speed road access to Tripoli International Airport . After the Libyan civil war , the compound was partially demolished . Some parts of it remain today , albeit in disrepair . The plan , however , is to eventually demolish the entire compound and turn it into a park . Structure . The original compound was built by King Idris , the previous ruler of Libya . Gaddafi reinforced and expanded the compound in the 1980s with the help of foreign contractors . It was surrounded by three concrete walls each with slits for weapons . The walls were estimated to be four - meters high and one meter thick with complicated gate structures . Inside , there were fields with trees , access to water , Gaddafi ’ s private residence , and a number of military barracks used by troops led by Gaddafi ' s sons . Also on the property there was a mosque , a football pitch , a swimming pool , communications center and other administrative structures with roadways . The interior walls were lower and surrounded a more secure area with guards and metal detectors . The buildings were connected by extensive networks of underground tunnels that lead to adjoining districts and possibly stretched to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea , which is , and elsewhere in the city of Tripoli . Gaddafi lived in a Bedouin - style air conditioned tent on the grounds , which he occasionally pitched in cities he visited . In 2009 , he attempted to camp in Central Park . On a visit to Russia , the tent was pitched in a garden at the Kremlin . Within the barracks there were facilities for banquets and other public events like pro - Gaddafi rallies . It was described by US intelligence reports published via WikiLeaks as " not lavish in any way compared with the ostentation of the Gulf - oil - state families or Hariri clan [ in Lebanon ] . " History . 1986 bombing of Libya . The site was the main target of the 15 April 1986 United States bombing of Libya , authorised by U . S . President Ronald Reagan , in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing by the Libyan government . Forewarned by both Maltese Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi that unauthorized aircraft were flying over Maltese airspace heading south towards Tripoli , Gaddafi and his family rushed out of their residence in the compound moments before the bombs dropped from thirteen U . S . Air Force planes . Gaddafi escaped injury , but he claimed his fifteen - month - old adopted daughter Hanna was killed and that two of his sons were injured . These claims have been disputed . After the capture of Bab al - Azizia in August 2011 , documents were found proving Hanna was still alive , including her passport , and documents which show Hanna became a doctor and worked in Tripoli . Damaged and hence unused for a period of time , official state receptions moved to the main military barracks buildings for a period , before the Gaddafi family reoccupied their section of the compound . To express defiance over the bombing , a monument was erected at the compound depicting a left - handed fist crushing a U . S . fighter jet . Gaddafi used this monument as a backdrop for speeches given during the uprising and civil war in February and March 2011 . 2011 bombings , rebel capture , and demolition . The compound became a target once more when the Libyan Civil War broke out in 2011 . In March of that year , an international coalition led by NATO launched a limited military intervention in the conflict , bombing loyalist military units and command - and - control centres . Bab al - Azizia was identified as one such centre , and was bombed repeatedly throughout the war . In August , at the height of the Battle of Tripoli , Bab al - Azizia became one of the last strongholds of loyalist forces in the capital , along with the Rixos Al Nasr hotel . However on 23 August , the compound ' s guards surrendered and it was captured by rebel forces . Fighters vandalised a statue of Gaddafi as well as the iconic sculpture of a fist crushing a U . S . fighter jet , which had been commissioned by Gaddafi after the 1986 bombing , and one rebel was filmed by Sky News wearing several items of clothing he had taken from Gaddafi ' s bedroom . Despite previous reports that Gaddafi and his family may be inside the compound , they were nowhere to be seen upon its capture ; it was later discovered that they had fled to Sirte . The compound was opened to the public , and its condition gradually deteriorated as it was vandalised by anti - Gaddafi protesters . It became a tourist attraction , and in early October Tripoli ' s Friday market moved into the compound . On 17 October , bulldozers began to demolish the outer walls , but stopped short of levelling the entire compound . As of February 2012 , many buildings had been reduced to rubble and what survived of the compound was in a state of major disrepair . Al Arabiya reported that several families had set up makeshift homes in the former compound due to high living costs elsewhere . Although no plans have been solidified , there are proposals for the new government to complete the demolition of the compound and build a park on its land .