Afghanistan's upper house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved bilateral security agreements with the United States and separately with NATO that allow some 12,500 international troops to remain in the country beyond December 2014.
A parliamentary media officer says only seven lawmakers — out of 102 — voted against the deals on November 27.
The agreements were approved by the lower house on November 23. The new Afghan government signed the two agreements on September 30. Former President Hamid Karzai had refused to sign the deals.
The approval of the agreements comes as the Taliban and other insurgent groups have intensified attacks both on domestic and foreign targets.
At least five Afghans and one Briton were killed and more than 30 people injured in the latest suicide attack that struck a vehicle of the British Embassy in Kabul on November 27.