Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia formally dissolved

The al-Qaeda linked Libyan Islamist group which was behind the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed the US ambassador Christopher Stevens, has dissolved.

(File Image) Tunisian riot police clash with supporters of Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia at Hai al Tadamon in Tunis, Tunisia, in May 2013. Source: EPA

Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia is formally dissolving, the group has confirmed.

The group, which is linked to al-Qaeda and which Washington says was behind the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed the US ambassador Christopher Stevens, had been at war with Khalifa Haftar's eastern based Libyan National Army.

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 UN-backed Government of National Accord 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.