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India-Pakistan
Security at Taj Mahal beefed up following bomb threat
2006-07-26
(KUNA) -- Security at the historical Taj Mahal in Northern Indian city of Delhi was Tuesday beefed up and every visitor is being scanned through electronic surveillance systems after officials received a letter threatening to bomb the monument. The letter contained a specific threat to blow off the Taj Mahal and the sender said he was linked to the Al Qaida, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Security forces are guarding the outer circle of the monument and also keeping an eye on every visitor through close circuit cameras and other electronic surveillance systems. Due to the large numbers of foreign tourists, the security agencies are keeping high alert and are extra cautious at the Taj Mahal, the news agency reported.
Posted by:Fred

#13  I was commenting on #7. Sorry about that.
Posted by: button   2006-07-26 14:12  

#12  That's a brilliant insight into their motivations. Kudos to you!
Posted by: button   2006-07-26 14:09  

#11  Taj Mahal, ya say? Well, here's an Ernie Gann story. In his book Fate is the Hunter, Ernie described his adventures flying the Hump to China. On one of his flights out of India, he and his crewmembers were flying a C-87, which is the cargo version of a B-24D Liberator. They had a bunch of machinery to transport somewhere from an airport near the Taj Mahal. It was hot, about 110F. He got gassed up, and then took off. Well, the C-87 was real sluggish, but it eventually got off the runway, mushing in ground effect right towards the Taj Mahal. His copilot said, "What will we do? We are not climbing and we are headed straight for the Taj Mahal!!!" Ernie said, "Full flaps!!!" That got them climbing and they made a little jump that had them barely clear the Taj Mahal. Then they slowly climbed and were on their way. At their destination, they dipped the tanks and found that the line guy had put 2000 extra pounds of av-gas on.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-07-26 11:44  

#10  Beef is sold "underground" in northern India. Be careful, some of the beef is from already dead or diseased cows. Also, sometimes mixed with other mystery meat. Deep friendship with the butcher is a plus. You want beef, travel to South India, no restrictions there.
Posted by: Poison Reverse   2006-07-26 10:37  

#9  I thought Hinduism didn't allow to BEEFup anything.
Posted by: JFM   2006-07-26 10:14  

#8  john,

I have been to Taj Mahal. It would take some type of an explosion to destroy the Taj Mahal. Only a direct a missile strike or dropped bomb can do it, which in case will be very easy to track the origin. Suicide bombers will not be able to accomplish that.
Posted by: Poison Reverse   2006-07-26 09:45  

#7  The hardline Wahabis and Deobandis are not fond of extravagent tombs and shrines. They consider them offensive to islam.

The real reason they find them offensive to Islam is because tombs and shrines are lessons of history. Those who never know history cannot understand the nihilism and anti-humanity of Islam. Tombs, graves and shrines encourage people to learn and remember.
Posted by: Quana   2006-07-26 09:27  

#6  A bomb is unlikely to destroy the Taj, it would kill a lot of kaffir tourists defiling the sacred sites of islam though.

The hardline Wahabis and Deobandis are not fond of extravagent tombs and shrines. They consider them offensive to islam.
Posted by: john   2006-07-26 06:59  

#5  The question is did Al Qaida really make phone threat?

Does Al-Qaida usual warn before a bombing? They call and the Indian forces are allocated there. Is this a sinsister distraction for some other target(s)?
Posted by: Jesing Ebbease3087   2006-07-26 01:16  

#4  If the Taj is destroyed. India is once again going into nuclear rhetoric mode. All carbs, no protein.
Posted by: Poison Reverse   2006-07-26 00:55  

#3  Well, to a Sunni, a Shia mosque is practically a synsgogue, and vice-versa.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-07-26 00:47  

#2  Um,the Taj Mahal is an Islamic shrine. It includes a mosque. The four towers are minarets. I could understand Hindus wanting to blow it up, or Baptists, or some other religion. But Muslims? Isn't it a sin to attack a mosque?

Also,the Taj Mahal is in Agra, not Delhi.
Posted by: Rambler   2006-07-26 00:32  

#1  "Beefed" up, huh?
Posted by: Omater Slise9194   2006-07-26 00:28  

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