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Col Gaddafi 'buried in secret, desert grave at dawn' Muammar Gaddafi 'buried in desert grave at dawn'
(about 2 hours later)
The bodies of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Muatassim and a top aide have been buried in secret in the desert, Libyan officials say. The bodies of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Mutassim and a top aide have been buried in secret in the desert, Libyan officials say.
A National Transitional Council (NTC) official told the BBC the bodies were buried at dawn in an unknown location.A National Transitional Council (NTC) official told the BBC the bodies were buried at dawn in an unknown location.
This follows days of apparent uncertainty among the new leadership about what to do with the bodies.This follows days of apparent uncertainty among the new leadership about what to do with the bodies.
Colonel Gaddafi's family wanted them buried outside the former leader's hometown of Sirte. Gaddafi's family wanted them buried outside the former leader's hometown of Sirte.
Officials from the NTC had expressed a preference for a secret burial. NTC leaders had expressed a preference for a secret burial.
'Unknown location' Bound by Fatwa
The NTC has given few details of the burial. Officials have given few details of the ceremony.
A number of officials have said the burials took place in the early morning. A few relatives and officials were in attendance and Islamic prayers were read. They say it took place early on Tuesday. A few relatives and officials were in attendance and Islamic prayers were read.
They did not state where the grave site is, except to say it is somewhere in the Libyan desert. The tussle over the body was between the Misratan military brigades who captured and killed Col Gaddafi on Thursday and the politicians - the National Transitional Council - who are now trying to take charge of the whole of this country.
Libya's Minister for Information Mahmoud Shammam said the NTC was following a fatwa, or religious ruling, that stated the body should not be buried in a Muslim cemetery. The body of Col Gaddafi was the number-one war trophy after eight months of civil war.
"I can't say exactly what the fatwa's content is, but it says that his body should not be buried in Muslim cemeteries and should not be buried in known place to avoid any sedition," he said. The tussle over it was all part of a behind-the-scenes positioning for power in the new Libya that we'll probably see the aftershocks of reverberating out in the weeks and months to come.
Libya's Minister for Information Mahmoud Shammam said the NTC was following a fatwa, or religious ruling.
"It says that his body should not be buried in Muslim cemeteries and should not be buried in a known place to avoid any sedition," Mr Shammam said.
An NTC official had earlier told Reuters news agency that Col Gaddafi would be buried in a "simple" ceremony with "sheikhs attending" on Tuesday.An NTC official had earlier told Reuters news agency that Col Gaddafi would be buried in a "simple" ceremony with "sheikhs attending" on Tuesday.
"It will be an unknown location in the open desert," he said, adding that a burial was needed because decomposition of the body had reached the point where the "corpse cannot last any longer"."It will be an unknown location in the open desert," he said, adding that a burial was needed because decomposition of the body had reached the point where the "corpse cannot last any longer".
Witnesses reported that the bodies of Col Gaddafi, Muatassim and former defence minister Abu Bakr Younis Jabr were removed overnight from the meat storage warehouse in Misrata where they had been on display. The BBC was told prayers were said over the bodies before they were driven away. Gaddafi, Mutassim and former Defence Minister Abu Bakr Younis Jabr were killed on Thursday following the fall of Sirte, the last major pro-Gaddafi bastion.
"Our job is finished," a security guard at the warehouse, Salem al Mohandes, told the Arabic television station al-Jazeera. "[Gaddafi] was transferred and the military council of Misrata took him away to an unknown location. I don't know whether they buried him or not." Witnesses said the bodies had been removed late on Monday from the meat storage warehouse in Misrata where they had been on display.
The BBC's Katya Adler in Tripoli says the question of how to dispose of Col Gaddafi's body has been a political minefield for the new Libyan leadership, and is the reason why it has taken four days for a decision to be taken. Shrine fears
The BBC was told prayers were said over the bodies before they were driven away.
"Our job is finished," a security guard at the warehouse, Salem al Mohandes, told the Arabic television station al-Jazeera. "[Gaddafi] was transferred and the military council of Misrata took him away to an unknown location."
The BBC's Katya Adler in Tripoli says the question of how to dispose of Gaddafi's body has been a political minefield for the new Libyan leadership, and is the reason why it has taken four days for a decision to be taken.
Islamic tradition dictates a burial should happen within a day of the death.Islamic tradition dictates a burial should happen within a day of the death.
But the NTC leadership was concerned that any public grave could become a shrine for Gaddafi loyalists or a target of hatred for those who opposed his regime, our correspondent says.But the NTC leadership was concerned that any public grave could become a shrine for Gaddafi loyalists or a target of hatred for those who opposed his regime, our correspondent says.
But, in the end, she adds, the decomposition of the body meant the NTC had to act. In the end, she adds, the decomposition of the body meant the NTC had to act.
Questions have been raised over the former leader's death after video footage showed him alive at the time of capture in Sirte on Thursday. Officials said he had been killed subsequently in a crossfire. Questions have been raised over the former leader's death after video footage showed him alive at the time of capture. Officials said he had been killed subsequently in a crossfire.
A post-mortem carried out on the 69-year-old's body on Sunday showed he had received a bullet wound to the head, medical sources said. A post-mortem examination carried out on the 69-year-old's body on Sunday showed he had received a bullet wound to the head, medical sources said.
The acting Libyan leader, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said the NTC had formed a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. Acting Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said the NTC had formed a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.