Emails shed light on bin Laden sea burial

WASHINGTON -- Internal emails among U.S. military officers indicate that no sailors watched Osama bin Laden's burial at sea from the USS Carl Vinson and traditional Islamic procedures were followed during the ceremony.

The emails, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, are heavily blacked out, but are the first disclosure of government information about the al-Qaida leader's death.

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

According to one message from the Vinson'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 Adm. 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."

Recipients of the email included Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Earlier, Gaouette, then the deputy commander of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, and another officer used code to discuss whether the helicopters carrying the SEALs and bin Laden's body had arrived on the Vinson.

"Any news on the package for us?" he asked Rear Adm. Samuel Perez, commander of the carrier strike group that included the Vinson.

"FEDEX delivered the package," Perez replied. "Both trucks are safely enroute home base."