Abdullah Doma / AFP - Getty Images
An armed Libyan man flashes the victory sign in front of a fire at the hardline Islamist group Ansar el-Sharia headquarters in Benghazi on Friday.
By NBC News staff and wire services
Hundreds of Libyan protesters stormed the compound of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi Friday night, driving out its militant occupants and setting fire to the compound, in an unprecedented public backlash against armed groups that have run rampant in the country since the 2011 ouster of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
At least one person was killed and 20 wounded in the confrontation, a hospital source said on Saturday.
Ansar al Sharia is the militant al-Qaeda inspired group that some allege played a role in the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
An estimated 30,000 Libyans marched to the group?s brigade compound earlier in the day in protest, chanting, "No to militias," the Associated Press reported.
The demonstrators demanded that militias in the country hand over their weapons to the fledgling post-Gadhafi government, and declared their solidarity with the United States in condemning terrorism.
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Some carried signs reading "The ambassador was Libya's friend" and "Libya lost a friend," the AP reported.
Military helicopters and fighter jets flew overhead, and police mingled in the crowd, buoyed by the support of the protesters.
As parts of the Muslim world fire up with anti-American protests, thousands rally to support America in Benghazi, Libya, where the U.S. ambassador and three others were killed a week earlier. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
"I don't want to see armed men wearing Afghani-style clothes stopping me in the street to give me orders, I only want to see people in uniform," said Omar Mohammed, a university student who took part in the takeover told AP.
After Libya, renewed questions about al Qaeda�
Armed men at the Ansar al-Shariah militia?s administrative center first fired in the air to disperse the crowd, but eventually fled with their weapons and vehicles.
At least one vehicle was set ablaze, The New York Times reported.
Abdullah Doma / AFP - Getty Images
Thousands of people march in Benghazi during a protest against militias on Friday. The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate that killed four Americans was the spark that ignited growing frustration with the armed groups that have proliferated since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.
The AP report said that Ansar al-Shariah supporters also showed up, and faced off with the crowd, waving black and white banners, but the confrontation was largely nonviolent.
No deaths were reported in the incident, but a demonstrator told Reuters that several people were injured.
A vehicle at the compound burned as the site was taken over by Libyan security forces after the compound?s occupants fled, the AP reported.
The Associated Press and NBC News' Ayman Mohyeldin and Kari Huus contributed to this report.
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