DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./PAKISTAN: U.S. IS TRAINING PAKISTANI SPECIAL FORCES

U.S. confirms it is training Pakistani special forces

U.S. military advisers are helping the Pakistanis double the size of their elite commando force in a continuing effort to blunt the rising threat of terror groups and anti-government militants operating in Pakistan's unruly tribal areas, a senior Defense Department official said.

The U.S. military presence in the country is fewer than 100 people, said the official, Mike Vickers, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and is focused on what he called "targeted training." That includes assisting Pakistan's Special Service Group and teaching specialized fighting techniques, like helicopter assaults.

"It's been ongoing for a while," Vickers said Wednesday. "They're expanding their capability substantially; they're essentially doubling their force. So we're helping them with that expansion and trying to improve their capabilities at the same time. There's also some aviation training. It's been ongoing for several years."

The number of U.S. forces in Pakistan is a sensitive issue. Many Pakistanis openly support or sympathize with Al Qaeda, the Taliban or other militant groups and would view a sizable American presence in their country as an unwelcome intrusion.

U.S. intelligence agencies maintain that Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, is in the tribal area, a swath of rugged land that runs along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

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