Washington: The US House of Representatives voted Thursday to repatriate from Libya the remains of 13 navy commandos killed in 1804 during the First Barbary War and buried in mass graves in Tripoli.
The measure, an amendment to a $690 billion defense bill, passed by voice vote. But it acknowledged that no action should be taken until the end of the current war in Libya pitting loyalist troops against rebel forces seeking to oust longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"The United States has an obligation to leave no member of our military behind, regardless of how long ago they were killed," said Congressman Mike Rogers, an army veteran who sponsored the bill with fellow Republican Representative Frank LoBiondo.
"Bringing the remains of those brave members of our military home and giving them a proper military funeral will finally end a tragic story that has lasted far too long."
USS Intrepid
The American sailors, the first US commandos and precursors of today's prestigious Navy SEALs, were killed when the USS Intrepid exploded in Tripoli Harbor.
After washing ashore, their bodies were fed to a pack of dogs as US prisoners of war looked on before being dumped into two mass graves, according to Rogers.
He said the sites were in "terrible disrepair" and one was about to wash out to sea.
The First Barbary War of 1801-1805 was the first of two wars fought between the United States and a group of North African nations known as the Barbary States.