NEW YORK (AP) -- 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.''
VIDEO: Times Square Blast Caught on Tape
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.
Each envelope was stamped with two $1 stamps and contained a while 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.''
For the third time in three years, someone riding a bike and armed with small explosives has struck in Manhattan.
The bomb, contained in a metal ammunition box, produced a sudden flash and billowing cloud of white smoke at about 3:40 a.m. Thursday -- a scene captured by numerous security video cameras. When the smoke cleared, there were no injuries, serious damage nor clear indication of motive.
Slideshow: Images from the Scene
But like similar attacks in 2005 and in October on the British and Mexican Consulates, the explosion frayed nerves of New 
Yorkers and tourists alike. It also heightened speculation that all three incidents were the work of a lone bomber who, perhaps emboldened by his past success, sought out the bright lights of Times Square.
1010 WINS Audio: Bloomberg, Kelly News Conference
"Times Square is 'the crossroads of the world' and we're concerned about it,'' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference where the NYPD released a video of the shadowy figure on a bicycle.
The blast prompted a huge police response, left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening the metal frame of the building. Guests at the nearby Marriott Marquis said they heard a ``big bang'' and felt the building shake.
``I thought it could have been thunder,'' said Terry Leighton, 49, a Londoner staying on the 21st floor. ``I looked down and there was a massive plume of smoke.''
The private security video, though too murky for police to get a clear description of the cyclist, shows a figure riding along a traffic island in the glow of neon signs at about 3:38 a.m and getting off the bike just outside the recruitment center. About two minutes later, the cyclist rides away. Then the explosion occurs.
Investigators were studying other security videos, including one showing a man exiting a subway station about 10 blocks away carrying a bicycle, police said. The FBI was analyzing forensic evidence collected at the scene, Kelly said.
The commissioner cited other possible clues: A new bike discovered at about 7 a.m. in a Dumpster at West 38th Street and Madison Avenue -- just a few blocks from the blast -- and the sighting of a man spotted on a bike near the scene moments before the explosion.
The man caught the attention of a witness because he was riding slowly, wearing a backpack and a hooded jacket, Kelly said. The witness, who was buying a newspaper at the time, said because of the hood, the rider's face ``was pretty much covered.''
The blast bears a striking resemblance to the two consulate explosions.
In October, two small explosive devices were tossed over a fence at the Mexican Consulate, shattering some windows; police said they believed someone on a bicycle threw the devices.
At the time, police said they were investigating whether it was connected to a nearly identical incident at the British consulate on May 5, 2005. No one was arrested in either incident.
In those incidents, ``dummy hand grenades were used and the explosive, black powder, was put into those grenades and that caused the explosion,'' Kelly said. ``Here, it may be similar powder -- we still have to determine that. But it was placed in an ammunition box. That was the carrier for the explosive. There was no grenade.''
Kelly held up a similar green metal box, noting they were readily available in Army-Navy surplus stores.
In another sign that the three blasts are related, all of them occurred between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m.
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But the previous episodes generated nowhere near the response that the Times Square blast did. Kelly, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the top FBI official in New York appeared at a nationally televised news conference in Times Square, and presidential candidates issued statements condemning the blast.
Bloomberg said the act ``insults every one of our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world.''
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``Whoever the coward was that committed this disgraceful act on our city will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,'' said Bloomberg. ``We will not tolerate such attacks.''
The military's 1,600 recruiting stations nationwide were alerted to the New York incident and advised to use extra caution, said Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army recruiting command. He said New York recruiters would be working temporarily out of their Union Square office.
The military has had a recruiting presence in Times Square since the 1940s.
The current version of the station, built around eight years ago for $1.5 million, was designed to fit into the revitalized Times Square area, with American flags in neon lights and video screens offering recruiting messages and other information.
Over the years, the center's high-profile location made it a favorite target of anti-war demonstrations.
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