WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - Lebanon has asked the United States for more military assistance as its armed forces battle Islamist militants, the State Department said on Tuesday.

"Right now we are considering a request for additional assistance coming from the Lebanese government. The Lebanese armed forces are engaged in a tough fight against a brutal group of violent extremists," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

He declined to say how much the Lebanese government had requested but said the request came in the wake of fighting in recent days. Over the past year the United States has provided about $40 million in military assistance to Lebanon.

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