Explosion outside Saskatoon provincial courthouse

UPDATE: Accused Saskatoon provincial courthouse bomber has bail hearing delayed

An improvised explosive device (IED) that caused damage to the exterior of the Saskatoon provincial courthouse was at the “low end of the spectrum” according to a Saskatoon police inspector.

Insp. Randy Huisman said that an IED is a technical term for a homemade explosive and is normally heard in international situations.

“In this type of situation, we’re not going to rule out that it isn’t a domestic terrorism incident,” Huisman said.

Huisman said that in this case, the explosive was made from readily accessible materials and that they don’t believe it is linked to any type of international terrorist activity.

READ MORE: Bag contained necessary material to create ‘low-level explosive device’: Saskatoon police

He added that there is nothing to suggest a link between the IED and the six recent suspicious package calls in the city.

The IED detonated just after 11 p.m. CT outside of Kilborn Place.

Witnesses reported a fire followed by a small blast.

No injuries were reported.

The Saskatoon police explosive disposal unit was called in along with a police dog trained to detected bombs.

Streets in the area were blocked for several hours while police carried out their investigation.

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Police officials said they are working with the court and there is an increased police presence there to address public safety concerns.

They said they want the public to be aware, but not afraid, and to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.

In February, a back pack containing necessary material to create a “low-level explosive device” was found near the court house.

It was destroyed by the explosive disposal unit.

“We are not ruling out any potential connections between this incident and the last incident,” Huisman said.

“Both are still under investigation.”

Saskatoon City Coun. Hilary Gough came upon the scene of the explosion while riding her bike home after visiting a friend.

“It was very strange,” Gough said.

She arrived at approximately the same time fire crews drove up to the scene.

“The fire was maybe a foot tall, not very big or substantial, but it was burning consistently, so it wasn’t looking like it was going to burn itself out,” Gough said.

With files from Global’s Ryan Kessler