The Canadian government will set off several fake bombs at its Washington embassy compound this month to demonstrate its NATO combat role in Afghanistan.

The embassy is hosting a two-day conference beginning Sept. 23 and has arranged for a mock Afghan village to be built and manned by Afghan actors as Hollywood-style mock bombs explode, the Globe and Mail reported Friday.

Military attache Lt.-Col. Douglas Martin told the newspaper the demonstrations would be observed by U.S. and Afghan officials.

“If this works the way I want it to, more Americans will know what Canada is doing in Afghanistan,” he said. “Unfortunately there are still a lot of Americans … who don’t know about how great the Canadian commitment is.”

Embassy officials told the newspaper all necessary permits to stage the explosions had been granted by the U.S. Secret Service, State Department and D.C. fire marshal and acknowledged a public information campaign would be launched to prevent public panic.