Details Of Osama Bin Laden's Secret Burial At Sea Revealed In Military Emails

11-23-2012 • http://www.businessinsider.com, Robert Johnson

Following the Abbottabad raid on May 1 of last year, bin Laden's body was whisked away to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in a helicopter crammed with Navy SEALs.

In his book about the raid, Matt Bissonnette says the helicopter that delivered bin Laden to the Vinson was so packed with troops and gear that he sat on bin Laden's corpse for the entire ride.

That detail and the fact that bin Laden was given a proper Islamic burial were about the only information about the event open to the public. The APs details fill in a few gaps and offer insight into how clandestine the mission actually was.

From The Telegraph:

"Traditional procedures for Islamic burial was followed," the May 2 email from Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette reads. "The deceased's body was washed (ablution) then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag.

"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, whereupon the deceased's body slid into the sea."