Gadhafi buried at unmarked location

MISRATA, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi, the dictator who ruled Libya for 42 years, was buried early Tuesday in an unmarked grave with only a few people allowed to attend. The modest Islamic ceremony closed the book on the 8-month civil war that ousted him and ended in the gruesome spectacle of people lining up for days to view his decomposing corpse on display in a cold storage unit.

A Gadhafi nephew read a prayer for the dead before Gadhafi’s body – along with those of his son Muatassim and former defense minister Abu Bakr Younis – were handed over for burial, said Ibrahim Beitalmal, a spokesman for the military council in the port city of Misrata.

Libya’s new leaders have said they would not reveal the location of the grave, fearing it could be vandalized or turned into a shrine for die-hard supporters.

Gadhafi was captured alive on Thursday as he tried to flee his hometown of Sirte, where he had been hiding since revolutionary forces swept into the capital, Tripoli, two months earlier.

He died later that day in unclear circumstances, and Libyan leaders have promised an investigation in response to international pressure to look into how he was killed. Video has emerged showing Gadhafi being beaten and abused by a mob after his capture, and researchers for the New York-based Human Rights Watch have said there are strong indications he was killed in custody.