Police probe 'we did it' letters after Times Square blast

US government offices received letters containing a photo of New York City’s Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed. The words “We Did It," were written on the card.

The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station before it was bombed in the early hours of yesterday. The photo was the kind commonly sent as a holiday greeting card, according to a Democratic aide.

The message on the card read: “Happy New Year, We Did It.”

The envelope also contained a packet of about 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a political manifesto against the Iraq war and a booklet. The aide did not know what the booklet was.

A second aide said similar letters arrived in as many as 10 offices.

FBI and US Postal Inspection Service chiefs said they were investigating alongside Capitol Police.

The man in the photo was thin, white with greying hair, wearing a striped flannel shirt and jeans, the Democratic aide said. A law enforcement official confirmed some of the contents of the letters as described by the aide.

An email obtained by the Associated Press, from the office of Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein to other politicians yesterday, said: “A few offices on the House side have received a letter today addressed to ’Members of Congress’ with a picture of a man standing in front of the Times Square recruiting station that was bombed in New York today with the statement ’We did it’. He is standing in front of it with his arms spread out and he’s attached his political manifesto.”

Authorities advised the recipients to leave the letters alone and call police, the email said.

The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting station and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedalling away.

The blast left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening its metal frame. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused “injury and even death”.