The US Senate has voted to re-instate an intelligence unit that is dedicated to tracking down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
In July, the CIA said the unit had been disbanded because al-Qaeda cells now operated independently from the organisation's leadership.
The decision to re-instate the unit was made as the Senate passed a $469 billion Pentagon funding bill amid bitter exchanges between Republicans and Democrats.
The bill allocates $63 billion in emergency money for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It is thought the figure could climb to $70 billion after negotiators from both houses of Congress finalise the legislation.
The cost of the two wars is now approaching $500 billion.
The Senate also voted to add $700 million to combat opium production in Afghanistan, where a resurgence of the Taliban has been accompanied with increased cultivation of poppies.
The development came yesterday as the Arabic language station al-Jazeera broadcast previously unseen video footage from 2001, allegedly showing Osama bin Laden meeting some of those involved in the 11 September attacks.
With the five year anniversary of the attacks on Monday, US President George W Bush has claimed the US is engaged in an ideological struggle with militant groups such as al-Qaeda.
