Citing unnamed US military officials, the newspaper said that small teams of US special operations soldiers have already been sent to Pakistan to train Pakistani counterterrorism troops.

But a classified plan now under review at the US Central Command would increase the contigent of US trainers to about 100, the report pointed out.

These specialists will help train the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force of about 85,000 members recruited from ethnic groups living on the Pakistani northwest frontier.

"The US is bringing in a small number of trainers to assist Pakistan in their efforts to improve training of the Frontier Corps," Elizabeth Colton, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Islamabad is quoted by The Times as saying. "The US trainers will be primarily focused on assisting the Pakistan cadre who will do the actual training of the Frontier Corps troops."

A senior US military official said the trainers initially would be restricted to Pakistani bases, but could eventually accompany Pakistani troops on missions "to the point of contact" with militants, the paper noted.

Britain is considering a similar training mission, according to the report.

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