TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. - An anti-military group opposed to the "foreign occupation" of Afghanistan claimed responsibility for an explosion that thundered through a Canadian Forces recruitment centre Friday.
The early-morning blast in Trois-Rivieres, Que., blew out windows on the building, showered a road with debris and rattled a downtown neighbourhood.
There were no injuries — primarily because the recruitment centre was closed at the time of the 3 a.m. explosion.
Later in the day, a group calling itself Resistance internationaliste issued a statement in which it also railed against multinationals, imperialism, the "repressive orgy" at the G20 and pipelines in Afghanistan.
"This operation against recruitment centres is our resistance to the brainwashing and the intensive soliciting by the army of youths confronted with the emptiness of a degrading society," the organization said in the communique sent to various media.
"As for the soldiers of the Canadian army, let's be clear — in no way are they 'ours.' They belong to the person they stupidly swear allegiance to: Her Majesty Elizabeth."
The group says it used to be known as Initiative de resistance internationaliste, a group that took credit in 2006 for the explosion of a car that belonged to Carol Montreuil, an executive with the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute.
It also claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a Hydro-Quebec tower in December 2004 in the Eastern Townships, near the U.S. border.
Quebec provincial police Sgt. Eloise Cossette said the municipal force in Trois-Rivieres received a bomb threat by telephone "a few minutes" before the blowout. She would not say exactly how much time elapsed between the call and the explosion.
Cossette also declined to release details on the bomb or elaborate on what police know about the organization.
"Yes, a group did claim responsibility but we are still looking at other possibilities," she said.
The recruitment centre is on the ground floor of a high-rise hotel, but the building did not have to be evacuated, Cossette added.
Still, the overnight rumble shook residents in their beds more than two blocks away from the blast site.
A man who lives across the street from the recruitment centre had just turned on his computer to play a video game when he heard the explosion.
"I went outside right away," David Leblanc told The Canadian Press. "I thought my brick wall had fallen down."
Leblanc says shards of broken glass were scattered on the street and on the stairs leading into the building. He smelled smoke in the air, but didn't see any flames.
"I was sure it was (natural) gas," said Leblanc, who didn't want to approach the centre because he thought there could be another eruption.
Around 20 people, who had spilled out of a nearby bar after hearing the explosion, had already gathered in front of the building when he arrived.
The gawkers, most of them inebriated after a long night of partying, thought the incident was pretty cool and were cracking jokes, he added.
"Everybody was saying, 'It's a bombing!' and they were laughing," he said.
Their amusement didn't last long because police arrived at the scene very quickly, Leblanc said.
"They got everyone out of there," he said.
A team of police investigators, the bomb squad and a canine unit searched the scene Friday for clues.
"We have explosives technicians, crime specialists, dogs," Cossette said.
"Our goal is to arrest (someone) and to solve this case rapidly."
A large security perimeter was set up around the building and an adjacent bus station in the heart of the city, which is about 130 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Cossette said it could have been worse.
"It happened during the night, the building was unoccupied and that's why there were no injuries or deaths," she said. "That's the good news."
The Canadian Forces have no immediate plans to tighten security at its recruiting centres, spokeswoman Maj. Paule Poulin said.
"Although the incident is unfortunate, it seemed to be isolated," she said from Ottawa.
But she says the military will take more care inspecting buildings when offices are closed down each day.
Poulin would not comment when asked if the Forces had any previous knowledge of Resistance internationaliste.
Opposition to the Canadian Forces' mission in Afghanistan has been stronger in Quebec than any other province in the country.
A Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll last year found that 54 per cent of Canadians surveyed opposed the government's commitment to have troops in Afghanistan, while 39 per cent supported it. Opposition to Canada's presence in Afghanistan was highest in Quebec, at 73 per cent.
Longtime Trois-Rivieres resident Andre Provost couldn't believe someone set off a bomb in the city of about 140,000.
"Trois-Rivieres is a very quiet town," Provost said as he watched police officers scour the area.
"I don't think the crime rate is very high."
With files from Peter Rakobowchuk in Montreal
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