Orlando shootings: Democrats in 14-hour gun control filibuster

A US Democratic senator has led a 14-hour filibuster in an attempt to force a vote on gun control legislation following the Orlando massacre.

Chris Murphy spoke at length with the help of fellow Democrats before yielding the floor. The tactic enables senators to block proceedings.

He tweeted a vote had been secured but there has been no confirmation.

Sunday's mass shooting at a gay club in Florida was the worst in recent US history, with 49 people dead.

Dozens of people remain in hospital, some in a critical condition.

President Barack Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden are due to visit Orlando later on Thursday.

In another development, it emerged that the gunman Omar Mateen made a series of Facebook posts before and during his attack in which he raged against the "filthy ways of the west".

According to the letter Mateen also said on Facebook: "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state."

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has asked Facebook to provide information on Mateen's online activity.

Senator Murphy began the filibuster at 11:21 on Wednesday, vowing to stay on the Senate floor "until we get some signal… that we can come together".

He is from Connecticut, where 26 people died in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Senator Murphy said he wanted to force Republicans and Democrats to agree on legislation to deny suspected terrorists the right to buy guns and require universal background checks.

"For those of us that represent Connecticut, the failure of this body to do anything, anything at all in the face of that continued slaughter isn't just painful to us, it's unconscionable," he said.

A tweet from early on Thursday read: "I am proud to announce that after 14+ hours on the floor, we will have a vote on closing the terror gap & universal background checks."

Trump makes terror watch call

Gun control is a divisive topic in the US, where the right to bear arms is enshrined in the constitution.

Earlier on Wednesday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said anyone on a terror watch list should be prevented from buying guns.

He tweeted that he would meet powerful lobby group the National Rifle Association to discuss the gun control issue.

The NRA responded by saying it would meet him but it already opposes terrorists buying guns.

Until now, Mr Trump has been a strong supporter of protecting gun rights and his candidacy was endorsed by the NRA.

Vice-President Joe Biden, speaking at a gun-control fundraising event in Washington, said the idea that a suspect on a terror watch list could still legally buy guns was absurd.

He said it had taken seven years for Congress to approve a ban on assault weapons which expired in 2004.

"I refuse to give up. We refuse to give up. It took me seven years to get the first ban put in place. There is no reason why we should ever stop," he said.

The FBI has two terror "watch lists". The smaller one bans flying to and from the US and there is also a larger one, which Mateen was on.

Mateen was put on that list for 10 months while under investigation following inflammatory comments at work.

But the FBI concluded there was no evidence he was a terror threat.