Anti-Gaddafi fighters are reportedly well-armed and organised The Ministry of Defence says it will not comment on Sunday Times claims that eight members of the SAS have been seized by rebel forces in Libya.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC a small diplomatic team was in Benghazi and "they were in touch with them".BBC correspondent Jon Leyne, in eastern Libya, said he had "strong suspicions" the reports were true.
The paper claims a unit was trying to put UK diplomats in touch with rebels trying to topple the Gaddafi regime.
It says eight SAS men, in plain clothes but armed, were captured.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, who is in the main rebel stronghold city of Benghazi, said: "I have been speaking to people from the authorities here who've not denied it and have spoken in terms that it probably is true without actually saying as much."
In a statement, the MoD said: "We do not comment on the special forces."
The Sunday Times claims the SAS soldiers were taken to Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, where they are being interrogated.
The full statement from the MoD read: "We neither confirm nor deny the story and we do not comment on the special forces."
Our correspondent said he had heard reports of a helicopter landing and British troops possibly captured on Saturday.
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My understanding is that they landed, possibly near somebody who they know as a British government supporter and that would have been some distance just outside Benghazi on a helicopter.
I don't know where the helicopter would have come from and I don't know the circumstances but you find in this area that very, very quickly somebody with a gun comes up to you.
The opposition here are, despite appearances, quite well organised, almost everybody's armed with guns, there are road blocks, there are patrols.
They are doing their best to keep in touch with each other, so word would have got around very, very quickly that this was happening and it would have been viewed as very, very suspicious.
At the scene
I don't know where the helicopter would have come from and I don't know the circumstances but you find in this area that very, very quickly somebody with a gun comes up to you.
The opposition here are, despite appearances, quite well organised, almost everybody's armed with guns, there are road blocks, there are patrols.
They are doing their best to keep in touch with each other, so word would have got around very, very quickly that this was happening and it would have been viewed as very, very suspicious.
"At that time it just seemed all a bit outlandish, frankly, because there was a British warship here in town just a few days ago, if anyone wanted to make contact with the authorities here they could have just walked down the gangplank and hailed a taxi," he said.
"But for some reason they decided to have gone a slightly more James Bond route about it. "But I can't absolutely confirm this. As you can imagine in a city like this, in a situation like this there is a very, very strong rumour mill that sends rumours around."
Meanwhile, Libyan state TV claimed troops loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have made significant gains against rebel forces who have taken significant parts of the country in a two-week insurrection.
It said pro-Gaddafi forces had retaken the towns of Zawiya, Ras Lanuf, Misrata and even Tobruk - although those claims have not been independently verified.
Jon Leyne says the claims go against all the evidence on the ground, unless there has been a sudden and dramatic swing overnight - of which there is no sign.
Regarding the SAS seizure claims, Geneva-based Human Rights Solidarity group said it was aware that a team of special forces had been seized by Libyan rebels but it did not know which country they were from.
Separately, a group of Dutch special forces was apparently captured by Col Gaddafi's forces in western Libya while trying to assist Dutch nationals evacuate.
Earlier, the MoD had confirmed Scottish troops were on standby to assist with humanitarian and evacuation operations in Libya.
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, is on a routine deployment notice of 24 hours at an RAF base in Wiltshire.
But they have not been earmarked for a combat role.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12658054
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