LUCKNOW, India (Islamweb & News Agencies) - A Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group, which India blamed for an attack on its parliament last month, has threatened to blow up the Taj Mahal, an Indian official said Wednesday.
Security around the 17th century marble monument had been tightened following an e-mail threat from the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Taj Mahal, India's monument to love in the northern city of Agra, is a huge draw for tourists from across the world.
India has blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups for the Dec. 13 attack on its parliament in which 14 people, including five attackers, died. Both groups have denied involvement in the attacks.
The official said Lashkar had also threatened to blow up a makeshift temple built at a disputed site in the ancient Indian town of Ayodhya where a 16th century mosque once stood.
Hindu zealots tore down the Babri mosque in December 1992, triggering widespread religious riots in which some 3,000 people were killed. The site is sacred to both Hindus and Muslims.
Security had already been tightened in and around the Ayodhya temple after a group of Hindu hard-liners barged into the heavily-guarded complex in October.