US Senate agreed on $1.15 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

The US Senate cleared the way for a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the US lawmakers rejected a bill to block huge American arms sales with Riyadh.

The bill would have halted sale of hundreds of US-made tank structures, machine guns, grenade launchers and armored vehicle structures, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition, to Saudi Arabia, Salon reported.

US Senate actually rejected a joint resolution in form of the bill, published earlier this month by bipartisan group of senators, citing the atrocities committed by the US-backed, Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the ways the war has strengthened extremist groups like al-Qaida and ISIL.

Rights groups including Amnesty International, Oxfam and more released statements applauding the senators who introduced the bill, and expressing dismay that it failed to pass.