PARIS , France ( CNN ) -- Police evacuated a major department store in central Paris Tuesday after finding five sticks of dynamite inside , French police told CNN . Paris 's Printemps department store , which has been hit by a security alert , pictured last month . CNN affiliate BFM-TV reported the dynamite was not rigged to explode , but police did not immediately confirm the report . French news agency AFP said it received a letter in the mail Tuesday morning , claiming to be from an Afghan revolutionary group and saying that a bomb was at the renowned Printemps department store . The news agency alerted the police , who evacuated the store , AFP told CNN . The letter specified three locations where explosives had been placed , and urged the news agency to contact the police `` quickly or you will have blood on your hands , '' according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN which AFP confirmed was accurate . `` I assure you that this is not a prank , '' the letter said . The bomb squad found the dynamite around 11 a.m. ( 5 a.m . ET ) , police said . It is not clear if the explosives were found where the letter said they would be . See where Printemps is located in Paris » . AFP said the letter was signed by a group called `` Front Revolutionaires Afghan , '' or Afghan Revolutionary Front . BFM-TV reported the group is calling for the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan by the end of February 2009 . `` Make sure the message is relayed to your president of the republic that he withdraw his troops from our country ( Afghanistan ) before the end of February 2009 or we will strike again your capitalist department stores but without warning , '' the letter said . It is the second time in a week that AFP has received a warning about the store . The agency said it received a phone call from a similar Afghan group a few days ago regarding the store , but at the time , police chose not to evacuate . Printemps , one of France 's most renowned stores , is popular with tourists and locals alike and located on the Boulevard Haussman . Most of the store reopened later in the day , although the area where the dynamite was found remained closed . Jim Bittermann , CNN 's senior European correspondent based in Paris , said : `` These kind of stores at this time of year are absolutely packed with shoppers . '' He added that France has a considerable number of troops in Afghanistan . In August , 10 French soldiers were killed in fighting near the Afghan capital Kabul . French President Nicolas Sarkozy said earlier this year that his government was willing to commit more troops to the war in Afghanistan . `` We can not afford to see the Taliban and al Qaeda returning to Kabul , '' Sarkozy said during a state visit to the UK in March . `` Whatever the cost , however difficult the victory , we can not afford it . We must win . '' Paula Newton , CNN 's international security correspondent , said that the group involved was previously unheard of . `` This may be termed a hoax attack but it will cause real anxiety on the ground . '' CNN 's Jim Bittermann and Niki Cook contributed to this report .
Bomb squad found the suspicious package around 11 a.m. ( 5 a.m . ET ) Police : Could not confirm French TV reports that package contained dynamite . Printemps is an upscale department store on the Boulevard Haussman . The Associated Press contributed to this report.