It is a problem faced again and again by rebels and opposing armies, and now by Libya's interim government – when a dictator is killed, what do you do with the body?

In the most recent instance, the shooting of Osama bin Laden in May, the US military had a planned solution. Bin Laden's body was buried with full Islamic rites, but at sea, to prevent a grave becoming a place of pilgrimage.

There is no such certainty about the remains of Muammar Gaddafi a day after the Libyan dictator died, in still unexplained circumstances, following his capture near his home city, Sirte.

The initial plan was for him to be buried at an undisclosed location early on Friday, in keeping with the Muslim imperative for quick funerals.

However, an official from the National Transitional Council said this would now be delayed while an outside organisation, possibly the international criminal court, was summoned "to go through the paperwork" surrounding Gaddafi's death.

The UN human rights office and Amnesty International have already called for an investigation into whether the 69-year-old was executed following his capture. The NTC says he was shot in crossfire while in an ambulance, while other accounts say he died from injuries suffered as NTC forces battled his bodyguards.

Separately, a commander in Misrata, the western city where Gaddafi's body was taken after he was seized by fighters from the city, said the burial would happen swiftly.

"He will get his right like any Muslim, his body will be washed and treated with dignity. I expect he will be buried in a Muslim cemetery within 24 hours," Abdul-Salam Eleiwa was quoted as saying by Reuters. He did not say where the burial would take place, or if it would even be inside Libya.

His fighters are currently guarding Gaddafi's body inside a large cold store in an old market area of the city. A witness told Reuters that much of the blood had been washed from the remains, which bore a bullet hole in the side of the head as well as a large bruise and scratch marks.

There were no NTC officials visible at the scene, fuelling speculation that the Misrata forces could be in disagreement with the interim government over what to do next.

"They are not agreeing on the place of burial," one NTC official told Reuters. "Under Islam, he should have been buried quickly, but they have to reach an agreement whether he is to be buried in Misrata, Sirte, or somewhere else."