The killing of Muammar Gaddafi took place on 20 October 2011 after the Battle of Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was found west of Sirte after his convoys were attacked by NATO aircraft, as part of the 2011 NATO military intervention in Libya. Gaddafi was then captured by National Transitional Council (NTC) forces and executed shortly afterwards.

The Battle of Sirte was the final and most decisive battle of the First Libyan Civil War, beginning when the National Liberation Army attacked the last remnants of the Libyan army still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown and designated capital of Sirte, on the Gulf of Sidra. As of September 2011, Sirte and Bani Walid were the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the National Transitional Council hoped that the fall of Sirte would bring the war to an end. The battle and its aftermath marked the final collapse of the four-decade Gaddafi regime. Both Gaddafi and his son, Mutassim, were wounded and captured, then tortured and killed in custody less than an hour later. The month-long battle left Sirte almost completely in ruins, with many buildings damaged or totally destroyed.