US To Train Libyan Security Forces

Al Qaeda-linked militias causing concern

The U.S. is planning to train Libyan security forces for counter-terrorism missions, Reuters reports.

The training of 5,000 to 7,000 conventional and special forces troops comes amid concerns that al Qaeda-linked militants are a growing threat across the region. Last year's attack against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, left a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead and raised concerns that Islamist militants had largely taken over the country after the U.S. helped depose strongman Muammar Gadhafi.

"Suffice to say that there is going to be a kind of conventional effort, to train their conventional forces, between 5 and 7,000 conventional forces," the head of U.S Special Operations Command, Adm. William McRaven, reportedly said over the weekend.