U.S. Senate OKs war funding bill

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate approved a 106-billion-U.S.-dollar bill Thursday for funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through this September.

After earlier passage by the House, the legislation now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The approved funding include 80 billion dollars to support war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the measure, passed by the Senate on a 91-5 vote, contains several items unrelated to war funding.

They include 5 billion dollars to help the International Monetary Fund boost its lending capacity.

There are also 7.7 billion dollars for pandemic A/H1N1 flu preparation and 10.4 billion dollars for aid to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.

The bill was once bogged down after a earlier Senate version of the legislation banned public release of photos showing abuse of detainees by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama broke the deadlock last week by offering to "continue to take every legal and administrative remedy available to me to ensure the photos are not released."

The final version of the bill does not include the 80 million dollars which Obama seeks for closing the military prison at U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It also prohibits current Guantanamo detainees from being transferred to U.S. soil, except they are to be prosecuted and only after the Congress receives a plan detailing risks involved.