WASHINGTON, Dec 3: The war in Iraq has cost the United States over $350 billion since the March 2003 invasion, according to an AFP review of Congress figures.

About $290 billion, including $254 billion for military operations, were allocated for the war in fiscal year 2006, which closed on Sept 30, according to a September 22 report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The Congressional Research Service estimated the cost at $319 billion, representing 73 per cent of US spending for the “war on terror” launched after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Congress has approved $70 billion for the “war on terror” in the 2007 defence budget that includes about $50 billion for the Iraq conflict, bringing the three-and-a-half-year spending over $350 billion.

A Democratic senator said last month that the Defence Department will request an additional $127 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an amount that would bring the cost of the “war on terror” over $500 billion.—AFP