Details of Osama bin Laden’s sea burial have emerged after the Associated Press obtained internal e-mails between U.S. military officials as part of a freedom of information request.
The e-mails, which were heavily blacked out, mark the first public disclosure about the al-Qaeda leader’s burial and highlight the intense secrecy surrounding the mission.
Bin Laden was killed in a raid in Pakistan on May 1, 2011 by a team of Navy Seals. One e-mail sent on May 2 described how bin Laden’s body was prepared: it was washed in an Islamic ritual of ablution, wrapped in a white sheet and then put in a weighted bag. Other cryptic e-mails made reference to bin Laden’s body, calling it “the package” delivered by “Fedex.”
No sailors on the USS Carl Vinson watched as Islamic rites were read and the al-Qaeda leader’s body was dropped into the ocean, according to the e-mails, which also detailed religious rites.
“A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker,” read an email sent on May 2 from Rear Admiral Charles Gaoette. “After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased’s body slid into the sea.”
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/22/official-e-mails-detail-osama-bin-ladens-sea-burial/#ixzz2Czrxb7z4
time
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