MIAMI, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. military formally charged a young Canadian prisoner with murder and other charges on Tuesday, clearing the way for his trial before the war crimes tribunal at the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Omar Khadr, 20, was charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism and spying.

He was captured during a gunfight at an alleged al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan when he was just 15 and sent to Guantanamo shortly after his 16th birthday. He would face a life sentence if convicted.

Khadr is accused of murdering one U.S. soldier with a grenade and injuring another during the battle.

Prosecutors drafted the charges in February and they were formally approved on Tuesday by the military judge overseeing the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals, Susan J. Crawford.

He had faced similar charges in the first Guantanamo tribunal system created by President George W. Bush to try suspected terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down that version of the war crimes court last year, and Khadr is the second prisoner to be charged under the new version created by Congress.

The first, Australian David Hicks, pleaded guilty last month to providing material support for terrorism and will serve a nine-month sentence in his homeland.

The rules require that Khadr be arraigned within 30 days and that his trial being within 120 days.

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