Washington: Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin
Laden's body was disposed off in the waters of the North Arabian Sea after
conducting of the last rites according to Islamic tradition, including washing
of the corpse.
The entire operation took about 50 minutes, according to senior defense
official familiar with the situation.
"Today's religious rites were conducted for the deceased on the deck of the
USS Carl Vinson which was located in the North Arabian Sea," the official said.
He said preparation for at sea burial began at 1.10 am US Eastern Standard
Time and were completed at 2 am Eastern Standard Time and the traditional
procedure for Islamic burial was followed.
"The deceased body was washed and the placed in a white sheet. The body was
placed in a weighted bag," the official said.
"A military officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated
into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete the body was
placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up were where in the deceased body into
the water," said the senior defense official.
Officials said the decision to give Osama a sea burial was taken as there no
country were willing to take his body.
Officials, however, did not give any further details about which countries
were approached for this.
It is understood that US gave a sea burial to the world's most wanted
terrorist as it felt that his land burial may become a site to attract extremist
followers across the globe.
Burying his body at sea would ensure that his final resting place does not
become a shrine and a place of pilgrimage for his followers as that of former
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain, whose grave has been converted into a tomb, which
is treated more like a shrine by his followers.
Before the burial, senior intelligence officials said, the CIA used multiple
methods to positively verify bin Laden's body.
According to a senior intelligence official, Osama bin Laden was visually
identified by the US personnel who were conducting the operation on the ground.
Also on the scene a women, one of his wives, identified him by name as Osama
bin Laden.
CIA officials, who had taken the pictures and have known bin Laden for long,
found the body 95 per cent of those pictures.
"Finally this morning CIA and other specialist carried out the initial DNA
analysis matching a virtually a 100 per cent DNA match of the bodies against
bodies of several of bin Laden's family members," the intelligence official said. PTI
