Al Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden (left) and IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the dreaded leader of the Islamic State, has been killed by the US special forces. His death has come as a devastating blow to IS or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), which had large swathes of land of Iraq and Syria under its control at one point. Body of Baghdadi has been buried at sea. Baghdadi has met the same fate as Osama Bin Laden, chief of terror organisation Al Qaida who was gunned down by US forces in the year 2011. Osama's remains were buried at sea as well.
But what does 'buried at sea' mean and why is it carried out?
In many countries, a sea burial is accorded to naval officers and sailors who wish that the unending stretches of water should be their final resting place. This is in a way to honour their service to the nation and an ode to their lives at sea.
But Osama and Baghdadi were terrorists:
The case of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Osama Bin Laden is different. Terrorists like them do not warrant honour of any sort.
Whenever terror lynchpins like Baghdadi and Laden are killed, there often occurs a question of burial of their bodies. In the case of global terrorists like these, no country is generally ready to make available land for burial.
More importantly...
There is often a danger of terror masterminds becoming 'martyrs' in the eyes of their fanatic followers. This makes the situation worse as a thousand more of these fanatic youths may get drawn to terrorism to 'avenge' the 'death' of their 'leader'
In such a case, if the terrorist is buried on land, there is a clear danger of such a burial site becoming sort of a 'pilgrimage site' for religious fanatics.
Hence a burial at sea is chosen for such persons.
In the case of Osama Bin Laden, heavyweights were tied to his body to ensure that his body does not surface after the burial and it remains at the bottom. There are many reports that say that a grave was dug in the ocean-floor by the US Navy and Osama's body was buried deep in it. It is possible that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's body may meet the same fate.
For obvious reasons, the US has not made the exact details of the burial public. The location of the body has been kept secret as well.
