With support from Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, the U.S. Senate approved President Obama's plan to train and equip Syrian rebels Thursday, backing his strategy to confront the Islamic State militants.

The legislation, drafted as an amendment to a routine bill to keep the government funded past Sept. 30, grants the president authority to train foreign forces to confront the Islamic State.

Opponents in both parties framed the vote as a precarious step toward a wider conflict in a region where American troops have been fighting for more than a decade.

Less than 24 hours before the vote, Franken told the Star Tribune he was unsure if he would support the measure.

"While I do have real concerns about this strategy, I believe that training and arming the Syrian rebels is our best available option," Franken said in a statement after the vote.

The U.S. House approved the measure Wednesday.

The authorization expires in mid-December with the spending bill it is attached to, ensuring lawmakers will revisit the issue before the end of the year. The bill language specifies that the measure is not a broad authorization of force against the Islamic State.

"There needs to be a full debate in Congress on an authorization to use military force," Franken said. "What I don't want is for this to be a slippery slope that leads to another protracted ground war in the region."

The debate over how to respond to the Islamic State has emerged a flashpoint in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. Federal authorities suspect that at least a dozen men and women have left the state to join the terrorist group.

Seizing on the potential threat to Minnesotans as a key campaign issue, Republican nominee Mike McFadden has criticized Franken's, accusing the senator of blindly supporting Obama's foreign policy.