The Afghan Revolutionary Front—a previously unknown terrorist group—wrote a letter to a French news agency claiming they had placed bombs in an upscale department store in Paris, France. Five sticks of dynamite were subsequently discovered in the Printemps department store. The dynamite did not have a detonator. Washington Post: Explosives Found in Paris Department Store (December 16, 2008)

On December 16, 2008, the French news agency Agence France-Presse received a letter from the group, warning that "bombs" had been placed in the bathrooms of Printemps, a large department store near the Gare St. Lazare train station in Paris. When police investigated, they discovered five sticks of dynamite. The interior minister told news outlets that the dynamite was old and there was no detonator to set it off. Washington Post: Explosives Found in Paris Department Store (December 16, 2008) Although the dynamite was no real threat to Parisian shoppers, terror expert Roland Jacquard expressed concern because the explosives were placed in a location which had been under intensive surveillance when the terror alert in Paris was at a high level.TIME: Who Put Dynamite in a Paris Dept. Store? (December 16, 2008)

"Send the message to your president that he must withdraw his troops from our country before the end of February 2009 or else we will take action in your capitalist department stores and this time, without warning."—Afghan Revolutionary FrontAFP: rance beefs up security after dynamite found in Paris store(December 16, 2008)