Washington: United States has approved a legislation that would slap diplomatic and economic sanctions against Syria over its alleged role in supporting terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction.

The US House of Representatives' International Relations Committee on October 8 gave consent to the Bill – the Syria Accountability Act – by a vote of 33 to two and is expected to come up for debate in the full House of Representatives during the week of October 13 to 17, according to a committee summary. There is a companion Bill in the Senate, but that legislation has not left committee.

The measure would keep Syria on the Department of State's list of nations that sponsor terrorism, demand that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon and hold Syria responsible for terrorism against US military forces in Iraq.

The Bill calls for sanctions to be imposed until such time as President George W Bush declares that Syria has stopped sponsoring terrorism and has halted chemical and biological weapons programmes.

PTI