CAIRO (Reuters) - Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia, a group linked to Al-Qaeda, is formally dissolving itself, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The group, which Washington says was behind the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed the U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens, had been at war with Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army.

The group said its decision came on the back of heavy losses that have wiped out its leadership and decimated its fighters, according to the statement.

Forces aligned with the Libyan National Army have skirmished since late last year with opponents aligned with a U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

Groups such as Ansar al-Sharia, which had tried to maintain a stronghold in the country’s east, have inserted themselves into the larger war, creating a fractious battleground overlaid by a multitude of militias.

The group’s statement called on revolutionary forces and shoura councils in Benghazi to unite in order to form a united front.</s>The Libyan Ansar al-Sharia militant group, linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed the U.S. ambassador, says it is formally dissolving itself.

The group made the announcement in a statement posted online on May 27, saying the decision was made after heavy losses that have wiped out its leadership.

The United States said Ansar al-Sharia was behind the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Ansar al-Sharia, which has been active in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, is also blamed for the deaths of hundreds of Libyan soldiers.

It was formed in 2012 from two smaller groups after the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

The United States and United Nations classify the group as a terrorist organization.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP</s>Benghazi-based group says it has been weakened after suffering big losses, calls others to unite and continue fighting.

Libya's Ansar al-Sharia armed group announced its own dissolution on Saturday, saying it has been "weakened" by fighting in Benghazi.

The group had been clashing in the eastern city with forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar.

In a statement published online, Ansar al-Sharia said it had suffered heavy losses that wiped out its leaders and decimated its fighters.

The group called other armed groups in Benghazi to form a united front and continue fighting.

READ MORE: What is it like living in Libya these days?

Ansar al-Sharia is one of the armed groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, in the chaos following the death of ex-ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The United States blames the group for the assault on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi in 2012 which killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Ansar al-Sharia overran the city in 2014, but lost its leader, Mohamed al-Zahawi, in clashes with Haftar's forces at the end of that year.

Haftar's Libyan National Army intensified earlier this month an offensive to oust Ansar al-Sharia fighters from their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.

At its zenith, Ansar al-Sharia was present in Benghazi and Derna in eastern Syria, with offshoots in Sirte and Sabratha, western Libya.

Libya has been wracked by chaos since Gaddafi's ouster with rival armed groups and authorities vying for control of the oil-rich country.

Haftar, whose Libyan National Army's control key oil ports, is a dominant figure for factions in eastern Libya that have rejected the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital, Tripoli.</s>The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its "dissolution" in a communique published online on Saturday.

Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in which ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

Ansar al-Sharia is one of the jihadist groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, in the chaos following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. They overran the city in 2014.

East Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar earlier this month launched an offensive to oust jihadist fighters from their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.

In its communique Ansar al-Sharia said it had been "weakened" by the fighting.

The group lost its leader, Mohammed Azahawi, in clashes with Haftar's forces in Benghazi at the end of 2014.

Most of its members then defected to the so-called Islamic State group. Ansar al-Sharia later joined the Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi, a local alliance of Islamist militias.

At its zenith, Ansar al-Sharia was present in Benghazi and Derna in eastern Syria, with offshoots in Sirte and Sabratha, western Libya.

The organisation took over barracks and other sites abandoned by the ousted Kadhafi forces and transformed them into training grounds for hundreds of jihadists seeking to head to Iraq or Syria.</s>DISBANDED TERROR GROUP?: According to the BBC, surviving members of the Ansar al-Sharia terror group say their organization has disbanded. The announcement was made on-line.

Ansar al-Sharia was responsible for the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Libya’s on-going civil war has been hard on Ansar al-Sharia murderers:

The Ansar al-Sharia group said that its leadership had been wiped out while fighting the Libya National Army. Most of its members are thought to have defected to the Islamic State group.

So. Disbanded doesn’t mean the killers have disappeared. It looks like the survivors have migrated to another terrorist outfit and are still on the battlefield.</s>A group of militant Islamists in Libya, blamed by the US for the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi which killed the ambassador, says it has disbanded.

The Ansar al-Sharia group said that its leadership had been wiped out while fighting the Libya National Army.

Most of it members are thought to have defected to the Islamic State group.

Separately a case against Hillary Clinton brought by the parents of two Americans killed in the Benghazi attack has been dismissed by a US judge.

The Benghazi diplomatic compound attack killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, while Mrs Clinton was secretary of state. The issue dogged her presidential campaign last year.

Ansar al-Sharia was blamed for the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi in 2012

Patricia Smith and Charles Woods, parents of two of those killed, filed a lawsuit against Mrs Clinton for wrongful death and defamation.

The suit claimed the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server contributed to their sons’ deaths.

The parents also accused her of defaming them in statements to the media.

But federal judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the complainants had not proved that Mrs Clinton was not acting in her official capacity by using the private server. She also judged that they did not have enough evidence to substantiate their defamation claim.

The al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Sharia group emerged in Benghazi – Libya’s second largest city – in the upheavals following the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi n 2011. At one point in 2014 they took control of the city.

But the group suffered heavy casualties while fending off continued offences launched by Libyan National Army strongman Khalifa Haftar – who earlier this month repeated his efforts to drive jihadist fighters out of their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.

The online announcement of Ansar’s formal disbandment called on Islamists to form a united front in Benghazi.

Libya now has two rival parliaments and three governments. The bulk of the fighting is between the Libyan National Army and forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.</s>Ansar al-Sharia is deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and the US. (Representational image)</s>Ansar al-Sharia emerged in Benghazi in 2011, quickly rising to prominence after the murder of the country’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The group’s leader, Mohammed al-Zahawi, was killed in 2014 during clashes with Libyan National Army forces, and the subsequent leadership crisis prompted many of Ansar al-Sharia members to defect to Daesh (ISIL/ISIS), further crippling the organization’s manpower reserves.

Ansar al-Sharia was listed as a terrorist group by the UN, the US, the UK, the UAE and Turkey.

Furthermore, Ansar al-Sharia was allegedly responsible for the 2012 attack against the US government facilities in Benghazi, which claimed the lives of four US nationals, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Ansar al-Sharia announces it is formally dissolving amid heavy losses that have wiped out its leadership and decimated its fighters. The group was responsible for the 2012 Benghazi attack.