The body of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may be laid to rest on Monday in line with Muslim traditions, Fox News reported on Monday.
According to Muslim traditions, the body of the deceased should be buried within 24 hours after the individual's death. According to Fox News sources, the U.S. Administration has no plans of straying from the traditions and bin Laden could be buried as early as midday on Monday.
The body of "Terrorist Number 1" is presently under heavy guard at a U.S. base in Afghanistan, according to the television station, and could be shipped to Saudi Arabia for burial.
Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and the country may agree to bury him on its territory; however, no official requests have come from the Middle Eastern state. Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991.
At least 44 U.S. Navy SEALs were involved in the military operation to capture bin Laden. According to preliminary reports of the shootout, the al Qaeda leader was shot in the head while hiding behind a woman during the operation. The unidentified woman and three men, one believed to be bin Laden's son, were also killed in the operation that lasted several minutes.
No U.S. military personnel were killed in the operation.
One of the world's most odious terrorists, bin Laden, who was on the FBI's most wanted list, had been behind the deadly September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.
"Tonight I can report to the American people and the world that the United States has conducted an operation that has killed Osama bin Laden," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a television address to the nation late on Sunday night in Washington.
"Last August, after years of work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead on bin Laden. And last week, I determined we had enough intelligence to take action. Today, at my direction, the U.S. launched a targeted operation on the Pakistan compound [where bin Laden was residing]," he said.
WASHINGTON, May 2 (RIA Novosti)
