US Senate committee votes to provide weapons to Syrian rebels

US lawmakers, for the first time Tuesday, voted to provide weapons to opposition forces in Syria rebelling against President Bashar Assad.

The Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 to arm the rebels, some of which are led by Al-Qaeda operatives.

The next step for the US is unclear because both President Barack Obama and the US House of Representatives have been hesitant to take military action in the Middle Eastern nation.

The United Nations has estimated that 70,000 people have been killed in Syria during the more than two years of civil war.