Gadhafi Buried in Secret Location after Viewing of Body Is Halted

Salah Malkawi/ Getty Images(MISRATA, Libya) -- Moammar Gadhafi was buried Tuesday in an unmarked grave at a secret desert location, five days after he was shot to death outside the Libyan city of Sirte.  Gadhafi's son, Muatassim, and his former army chief were also laid to rest in the same unknown spot.

The burial came after Libya's new government decided Monday to halt the public viewing of Gadhafi's body, which was held in cold storage in the city of Misrata.

According to witnesses, the bodies of Gadhafi, his son and his army chief were turning dark and leaking fluids, and people were administered face masks to kill the stench of rotting flesh.

Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, was seized last Thursday by rebels who had just overrun his hometown of Sirte.  During his capture, the 69-year-old dictator was roughed up and then killed by a single gunshot to the head.

Under Islamic law, Gadhafi should have been buried 24 hours after his death.  But due to his notoriety and the fact that Libya is now under the control of the National Transitional Council, Gadhafi's body was put on display as proof that he was indeed gone for good.

Four sheiks were on hand to witness Tuesday's burial and then swore on the Quran never to reveal where the unmarked graves are located.  The decision was made after talks with Gadhafi's tribal kinsmen from Sirte about what to do with the three bodies and what compensation would be received in turn broke down.

NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel-Jalil also promised an investigation into Gadhafi's death and raised the possibility that he might have been killed by one of his own men to prevent Gadhafi from turning over names of other former Libyan government officials who could be tried for war crimes.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Gadhafi Son's Last Smoke Caught on Video

File photo. DigitalVision/Thinkstock(SIRTE, Libya) -- Mutassim Gadhafi, the son of Moammar Gadhafi who was reportedly captured and killed the same day as his father in Libya, was allowed a final cigarette before his death at the hands of rebels, new videos appear to show.

A man closely resembling Mutassim, who served as the dictator's national security advisor and potential successor, appears bloodied but remarkably calm in a series of videos that surfaced online overnight and spread through social media. In one, he nonchalantly takes a drag from a cigarette. In another, he drinks from a water bottle and is seen resting with his hands on his head.

Another new video shows the same man lying dead in the same clothes.

The videos come as the United Nations' High Commission for Human Rights called for an investigation into the death of Moammar Gadhafi, who also appeared alive and in rebel custody in a series of videos before he was killed, allegedly in "crossfire."

"On the issue of Gadhafi's death yesterday, the circumstances are unclear -- there seem to be four or five different versions of how he died," the U.N. office said in a statement. "We believe there is a need for an investigation and more details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in the fighting or after his capture."

Along with Mutassim, two other Gadhafi sons have been reportedly killed in the fighting. Other children, including Gadhafi's daughter Aisha and her newborn, escaped to friendly African nations. Only Saif al-Islam, rival to Mutassim as heir apparent and the once-great hope for reform in Libya, remains unaccounted for.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio