WASHINGTON (AP) — Marines and other U.S. forces in Europe are on a heightened state of alert in response to a deteriorating security situation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, two U.S. officials said Friday.

The alert order applies to a U.S. special operations team based in Stuttgart, Germany, as well as a Marine group of air and ground forces based in Moron, Spain, according to the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.