Police officers with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department sit in their cruiser outside an Armed Forces Recruiting Center, Thursday, March 6, 2008, in Washington as another officer, left, exits the center. Police are investigating letters that arrived Thursday at Capitol Hill offices containing a photo of the New York Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim 'We Did It.'

WASHINGTON - Capitol Hill offices received letters Thursday containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim "We Did It."



The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station before it was bombed. The photo was the kind commonly sent as a holiday greeting card, according to a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation.

The message on the card: "Happy New Year, We Did It."

The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a political manifesto railing against the Iraq war and a booklet. The aide didn't know what the booklet was. A second aide, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said similar letters arrived in as many as 10 offices.

Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service were investigating. In an e-mail to lawmakers, Capitol Police said the envelopes went through the standard security process. That process, which involves radiating incoming mail, can easily take a week or more, making it likely the letters were mailed well ahead of the bombing.

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

Each envelope was stamped with two $1 stamps and contained a white label with a return address, which the police did not identify in the e-mail. Police said the letters were safe and did not contain threats to lawmakers.

The man in the photo was thin, white with graying hair, wearing a striped flannel shirt and jeans, the Democratic aide said. A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, confirmed some of the contents of the letters as described by the aide.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of an e-mail sent from the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to other lawmakers Thursday that reads:

"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."

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."