US Senate doubles Bin Laden reward
The reward for the death or capture of Osama Bin Laden has been increased
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Saturday, 14, Jul 2007 08:33
The US Senate has voted to increase the reward for the death or capture of Osama Bin Laden to $50 million (£25 million).
A bill put forward by senator Byron Dorgan was passed by 87 votes to one with the aim of "bringing Osama Bin Laden and other leaders of al-Qaida to justice".
The legislation comes after media reports suggested that leaked intelligence documents say Al-Qaida is now at it's strongest since the September 11th terrorist attacks.
President George Bush has refuted such claims, although he has reiterated the fact that insurgents in Iraq are allegedly part of the al-Qaida network.
"The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September 11th, and that's why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home," the president said in a press conference on Thursday.
Senator Jim Bunning, a Republican and the only member of the Senate to vote against the bill, told the Reuters news agency that if Mr Dorgan "truly supported our efforts to fight al-Qaida he would not support withdrawing from Iraq".
The bill still has to go through a vote in the House of Representatives and would need to receive the president's approval before becoming legislation.