BBC: US officials say Osama Bin Laden's body was treated with respect and buried at sea, but some Muslims argue there was no good reason for not burying it on land.
Islamic tradition requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible, unless an autopsy is required.
The US military took this requirement very seriously, burying the body within hours.
"Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed," an official said.
Religious rites were carried out on the deck of a US aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. The body, shrouded in a white sheet and placed in a weighted bag, was then placed on a flat board, tipped up, and eased into the Arabian Sea.
This occurred at 0600GMT, approximately 12 hours after the firefight during which Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head.
After this first shot, reports ABC News['] The Blotter, he was shot again, to make sure that he was dead.
The body was then flown to Afghanistan and Bin Laden's identity was confirmed. Officials say a DNA sample was taken that matched that of several other family members. Some sources say facial recognition technology was also used.
From Afghanistan, the body was, it appears, flown to the USS Carl Vinson.
"A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker," a US defence official said. » | Monday, May 02, 2011
