15 February: An Israeli tank was blown up for the first time Thursday night, killing three soldiers. A huge explosion ripped off its turret and split the 65-ton Merkava (Chariot) 3 in two as it charged up the Karni-Netzarim route in the Gaza Strip to reach a civilian bus under Palestinian gunfire. DEBKAfile ’s military sources advance the theory that a hollow, multi-stage - probably magnetic - charge was used, possibly in combination with a powerful magnetic mine or mines. This form of sabotage has never been seen before in the Middle East. The charge may have fixed under the turret along the seams of its joins to the tank body and activated by remote control or radio signal. This would explain how the turret was ripped off. As the tank approached the distressed bus, the smaller charge would have been detonated, releasing a shower of magnetic explosive particles, which adhered to the body of the tank and produced a blast more damaging than an anti-tank missile, especially in combination with a mine exploding underneath the tank. The Israeli Merkava was designed primarily for crew survivability under fire. The charges must have been expertly planted at the best points for penetrating its special “spaced armor” This was the precisely the method employed by Osama bin Laden’s mujaheddin in the 1980s to sabotage Soviet T-72 tanks in Afghanistan, a technique taught them by their American instructors.