Coast Guard increases Mackinac Bridge patrols.

CARO - The U.S. Coast Guard has increased patrols near the Mackinac Bridge after prosecutors said they believe three Palestinian-American men from Texas now jailed on terrorism-related charges were targeting the 5-mile-long span.

The men were arrested Friday outside a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlet in Caro in the state’s Thumb region after employees became suspicious about their purchase of 80 cell phones. Authorities say the men had about 1,000 cell phones in their van.

Maruan Awad Muhareb of Mesquite, Texas; Adham Abdelhamid Othman of Dallas; and Louai Abdelhamied Othman of Mesquite were charged with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.

Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene said that investigators believe the men were targeting the Mackinac Bridge.

The Detroit Free Press, citing a law enforcement official familiar with the case who it didn’t name, reported today that the phones plus photographs and videos of the bridge led authorities to believe the men were targeting the structure.

Authorities contacted the office of Gov. Jennifer Granholm about the men, The Detroit News reported. Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said: “At this point, there is no credible evidence of a terrorist activity” against the bridge.

UPDATE at 8/14/06 8:45:12 am:

Debbie Schlussel has more information:

Sources tell DebbieSchlussel.com that the men are from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the group that works in concert with HAMAS in performing homicide bombings in Israel. The group once even considered merging with HAMAS, at the time that it was headed by University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian, a founder of the group. Maybe now sleepy Americans will awaken to note that Palestinian terrorism is not just Israel’s problem. It’s America’s.

Sources say the plot was uncovered because law enforcement personnel observed two or more other men videotaping the Mackinac Bridge.

Sources also say that it is very unlikely the men could have succeeded in blowing up the Mackinac Bridge—even with the chips from 1,000 phones for 1,000 bombs—as it is several miles long (it’s the world’s third longest suspension bridge). At a total length of 26,372 feet, the steel structure can support 38,486 tons of weight and is very, very strong and fortified. The sources say that, likely, the plan would have succeeded in bombing cars driving on the bridge, but not bringing the structure down.