President Barack Obama has sent Congress a draft authorisation to formally use military force against the Islamic State group (IS). The resolution would not restrict where US forces could pursue IS but bans "enduring offensive combat operations".
The US has already pursued air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria since last year. Congress has not formally voted for military force since 2002, for the Iraq war.
Mr Obama has called for ending that resolution, about the Iraq war, but the new draft does not make any changes to the Afghanistan war resolution in 2001.
The draft the US president has sent Congress in regards to IS is limited to three years. It is expected to set up a debate about America's role in the Middle East and how to best counter the militant group.
In a letter sent to Congress along with his draft, Mr Obama said while "existing statutes" allow the air strikes, he has "repeatedly expressed my commitment to working with the Congress to pass a bipartisan authorization for the use of military force (Aumf) against ISIL".
Mr Obama said it "would not authorise long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan" but would provide flexibility to pursue rescue operations and special operations attacks. (BBC)
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