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Israel Uses Toy Plane Bomb to Kill Militants

(London Times) - Uzi Mahnaimi Six Palestinian militants who died in an explosion in Gaza last week were the victims of a bomb concealed inside a toy aircraft, handed to them by an undercover Israeli agent and detonated from a passing helicopter or unmanned drone spy plane. The operation, which appears to have been masterminded by Shin Bet, was one of Israel's most audacious strikes against Hamas. Hamas leaders sought to employ a remote-controlled model aircraft, loaded with a powerful explosive, that could be flown past Israeli checkpoints and aimed at a military base. Such planes are sold in shops in Tel Aviv and Hamas turned to a Palestinian intermediary who had a special Israeli pass which he had been using for months to smuggle arms. However, their trusted arms dealer was also working for Shin Bet. When the final package arrived, a group of 10 men from Hamas gathered "to assemble the model aircraft and use it the same week against an important Israeli target," said a Hamas member in Gaza, identified only as Muin. Soon afterwards a bomb hidden in the model plane was detonated as the result of a signal sent by an Israeli aircraft overhead.
2003-02-21 00:00:00
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