Militants from the so called 'Islamic State', also known as ISIS, have set up training camps in eastern Libya, a US military general said.
Western countries have lately expressed worries that the political turmoil in Libya could provide a fertile ground for the extremists to undertake such activities.
"They put training camps out there," General David Rodriguez, the head of US Africa Command, told reporters.
General Rodriguez, however, ruled out any military action on what he referred to as the "nascent" camps in the immediate future.
Describing the activities carried out by the militants as small, Rodriguez said that the camps were at an early stage, but the US was watching them "carefully to see how it develops".
"It's mainly about people coming for training and logistics support right now, for training sites," he said adding that it wasn't yet clear how closely aligned the trainees were with IS. "Right now it's just small and very nascent and we just have to see how it goes."
When asked if the camps could be a target for US airstrikes, he said, "That policy discussion is ongoing and we'll see how that goes." He, however, added that the camps were not being targeted "right now".
Libya is currently caught in a conflict between two rival governments. One is a self-declared government set up in Tripoli after forces from a group known as Libya Dawn took over the capital this summer and the other one is the internationally recognized government, which operates from the eastern city of Tobruk.
The country has been in turmoil since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 and various tribes, militias and political factions are all fighting for power.
In the east of the country, several Islamist groups are competing for power and some militants recently declared allegiance to IS.
The IS organization seized vast stretches of land in north Iraq and neighbouring Syria earlier this year in a brutal offensive that saw many episodes of beheadings and deadly crimes.
