Colonel Muammar Gaddafi died on 20 October 2011. On this day Gadaffi and his companions were travelling in a convoy, trying to escape from the city of Sirte. They had come to Sirte in August when the opposition forces (National Transitional Council) took control of the capital, Tripoli. Sirte was Gaddafi's home and also a centre for forces still loyal to him, often for tribal reasons. However, after several weeks of fighting Sirte also fell to the NTC with help from Nato forces.

On the morning of 20 October, Gadaffi and his closest allies were in a group of 75 vehicles trying to escape from Sirte. They were spotted from the air and different Nato aircraft fired on them. A number of people were killed and the convoy stopped. Gaddafi, his son and one of his closest ministers then hid in a house nearby. When the house was also attacked, they fled and took refuge in a drainage pipe. They survived one further attack, but eventually were caught by NTC forces. Gaddafi was then shot, but it remains unclear who actually killed him.