WASHINGTON (AP) — Myanmar's military crackdown that has caused a half-million Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh could destabilize the region and invite international terrorists, the State Department said Thursday.

But Patrick Murphy, a senior U.S. official for Southeast Asia, would not say whether the Trump administration would impose targeted sanctions against Myanmar's military.

Addressing the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Murphy said security forces were to blame for a "disproportionate response" to Rohingya insurgent attacks six weeks ago. He equivocated on whether it amounted t...