20110504
reuters

DNA matching was under way late yesterday on samples from the body of slain terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, a U.S. government official said.

Osama was buried at sea under Islamic customs.There are photographs of the body with a gunshot wound to the side of the head that shows an individual who is not unrecognizable as bin Laden, the official said.

No decision had yet been made on whether to release the photographs and if so, when and how. Interpol warned of "heightened terror risk" over Bin Laden's death.

Bin Laden's body was later buried at sea, an official said. Many Muslims adhere to the belief that bodies should be buried within one day preferably on land except in circumstances where the person died at sea. The US was unwilling to bury him on land because they did not want to create a pilgrimage site.