WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Bush administration is seeking an additional 25 billion dollars for the Pentagon budget for next year because of the growing cost of US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, congressional aides said Wednesday.

    White House budget officials will discuss the proposal with top Republicans at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, CNN reported, quoting aides to Republican congressmen.

    As US military encountered increasing insurgency in Iraq and was forced to keep higher-than-expected number of forces there, Pentagon officials have said the cost of the Iraqi military operation would grow.

    The Bush administration has funded the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with supplemental appropriations that are not includedin its budget requests for Pentagon.

    Congress has passed two bills appropriating more than 160 billion dollars since the war started in March last year. The White House has said the administration does not expected to seek additional money before January.

    Lawmakers said the US military will need at least 50 billion dollars to keep troops in Iraq for the next year, and the Bush administration is trying to avoid disclosing the price tag because of election-year politics. Enditem