The man responsible for the bloodiest terror attack on US soil was chucked off a boat and buried at sea so sick fanatics couldn't make a shrine of his gravestone.
Twelve years ago, Osama Bin Laden was shot cold dead as he emerged from the third floor of a building he was hiding in with his family in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
His death was the result of Operation Neptune Spear, a 40-minute CIA-led "capture and kill" operation, in which Bin Laden, four men including his son and another woman were slaughtered.
After he was killed, US forces circled back to Afghanistan, where his body was identified with DNA tests.
But just as important as the raid was the follow-up mission to dispose of his body in a way that suited the US, while adhering to Islamic customs.
Washington had become increasingly concerned that if the monster was buried on land, his gravesite would become a sick shrine for would-be jihadists to visit and galvanise their murderous intentions.
So once the SEALS put an end to his reign of terror, they flew him 850 miles to the Arabian Sea, where his body was shrouded in a white funeral garb, placed in a weighted bag and gently eased below the waves, in accordance with Muslim funeral rites.
"A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker," a US defence official said.
At the time, the US claimed to have taken the completion of the religious rite very seriously, but some members of the Muslim community felt Washington could have arranged a land burial.
Islamic experts differed on the appropriateness of a sea burial, with some saying it was not a major issue considering how notorious Bin Laden was.
Others argued it was tantamount to blasphemy and he should've been buried in the ground with his head facing Mecca.
Many said that an ocean burial is only permitted when someone dies during a sea journey.
In addition to the shrine concerns, the US claimed they couldn't find a country, or a single individual, willing to take Bin Laden's body.
But scholars said that this was untrue, arguing that a member of his massive family, or a supporter would have gladly taken up the duty.
It's unlikely the US explored the option of handing over the body of one of the worst terrorists the world has ever seen to a supporter of his evil ideology.
There were reports that his native Saudi Arabia was asked to take one for the team. The Kingdom follows Wahabbism, which is strictly against all forms of idolatry, which includes shrine worship.
At the time, the Associated Press quoted Dubai's grand mufti Mohammed al-Qubaisi, who said sea burials were only allowed in extraordinary circumstances, which this was not.
"If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: You dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it," he said.
