Secret emails reveal details of bin Laden’s Islamic burial at sea

The emails, obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act, are heavily blacked out but are the first public disclosure of government information about the al-Qaida leader’s death. The emails were released by the US Defence Department.

Bin Laden was killed on May 1, 2011, by a US Navy SEAL team that attacked his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

One email, stamped secret and sent on May 2 by a senior navy officer, briefly describes how his body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet, then placed in a weighted bag. According to another message from the Vinson aircraft carrier’s public affairs officer, only a small group of the ship’s leadership was informed of the burial.

“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.”

The email also included a cryptic reference to the intense secrecy surrounding the mission.

“The paucity of documentary evidence in our possession is a reflection of the emphasis placed on operational security during the execution of this phase of the operation,” Rear Adm Gaouette’s message reads.

Recipients of the email included Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General James Mattis, the top officer at US Central Command. Adm Mullen retired from the military last September.

The Obama administration is keeping a tight hold on materials related to the bin Laden raid. The Defence Department said in March that it could not locate any photographs or video taken during the raid or showing bin Laden’s body.

The Pentagon also said it could not find any death certificate, post-mortem report or results of DNA identification tests for bin Laden, or any pre-raid materials discussing how the government planned to dispose of bin Laden’s body if he were killed.

The Defence Department also refused to confirm or deny the existence of helicopter maintenance logs used in the raid.