Scores of people have been killed and dozens more injured after a truck plowed through a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, in what has been called “the worst attack” in the city’s history. The truck driver was killed by police.
READ MORE: Dozens reported dead as truck plows into crowd in Nice, France (GRAPHIC IMAGES)
17 July 2016
Investigators revealed on Sunday that the truck driver behind Nice attack had been driving around the city in his truck on July 12 and 13 looking for the most effective place to carry out the atrocity.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the driver who killed at least 84 people in Nice had recently been radicalized.
“The investigation will establish the facts, but we know now that the killer was radicalized very quickly,” Valls said in remarks published on Sunday, Reuters reports. “The claim on Saturday morning by Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] and the fast radicalization of the killer confirm the Islamist nature of this attack,” the Prime Minister added.
Two more people have been arrested in connection with the Nice truck tragedy. A man and woman were arrested in Nice on Sunday for possible involvement, putting the total number of people detained in connection with the truck attack at seven, news agencies report, citing judiciary sources. Five of those previously detained remain in custody.
16 July 2016
Political analyst Pierre Schweitzer tells RT that unity in France took a big hit with this latest attack.
“Contrary to what happened in previous attacks… politicians on the right are already blaming the government. And they are doing so on the very day of the attack. So, this is a change in the political context in France.”
Like other experts, he believes increasing or decreasing operations in the Middle East will not have any effect on the number of Islamic State attacks in Europe, because the terrorists are carrying them out because they are losing big on their home turf in Syria and Iraq.
“Even if we didn’t [carry out] some new military action in Syria and the Middle East in general, I think the attacks will increase anyway, because ISIS is losing ground,” he says.
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the truck attack in Nice, France, that left 84 people dead, according to ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency.
READ MORE: Islamic State claims responsibility for truck attack in Nice
At least three people were arrested in Nice on Saturday morning in connection with the deadly truck attack, BFMTV reported.
15 July 2016
Condemning the attack in Nice, US President Barack Obama argued that the US and France should defeat extremis ideologies “by offering a better vision of development and economic progress” and staying true to their values, including “pluralism, rule of law and diversity.”
Obama called “repugnant” the suggestions to ban Muslim immigration or place Muslims under surveillance, saying that this would aid the terrorists.
“We should never do their work for them,” he told reporters in Washington, DC on Friday afternoon.
Three US students, who were on a study-abroad program in France, were injured in the Nice terrorist attack and one more is still missing, the University of California in Berkeley said according to Reuters. The missing student was identified as Nicolas Leslie, 20. Two injured students suffered broken legs and the third one has a broken foot, the university added.
The Nice attacker likely had ties to radical Islamist organizations, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the media.
“He is a terrorist probably linked to radical Islam one way or another," Valls told France 2 television’s evening news program. "Yes, it is a terrorist act and we shall see what the links there are with terrorist organizations."
Most weapons the Nice attacker carried in his vehicle turned out to be replicas, French media reports, citing Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins. Police found a 7.65 caliber handgun and ammunition in the truck cabin. Other weapons, including another pistol, two assault rifles and grenades were replicas.
Watch RT's latest report on Nice terror attack
The Nice attacker’s identity has been confirmed as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins told journalists, adding that the truck driver’s identity was verified from his fingerprints.
Ten children and teenagers were killed in the terror attack in Nice, Prosecutor François Molins said in a briefing. Around 200 people were injured, 52 of whom are still in critical condition.
A cartoonist for the French satirical Charlie Hebdo weekly working under the pseudonym “Coco” has posted a caricature of the Nice terrorist attack on her twitter account, provoking a wave of public indignation, with many users leaving angry and mocking comments under the post.
The Eiffel Tower will be lit up in France's national colors following the Nice attack, Paris City Hall announced, as reported by AFP.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has expressed her condolences to the families of the victims of the Nice terrorist attack. “The terrible events that transpired in Nice left me with a sense of profound sadness. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims. I stand by you at this tragic moment,” she said in a statement published on Twitter.
Some 30,000 people were on the Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night when the attack took place, le Figaro newspaper reported.
Witnesses told Nice Matin newspaper that they heard the attacker shout “Allahu Akbar” several times.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute to the victims of the Nice attack at the French embassy in Moscow.
‘Hacktivist’ group Anonymous has announced it will launch ‘Operation Nice’ in response to the Thursday terrorist attack in the French resort city. “To defend our values and our freedom, we are tracking down the members of the terrorist group responsible for these attacks,” a member of the organization wearing a Guy Fawkes mask said in a video statement posted on YouTube. “Expect total mobilization on our part,” he added.
French nationals attended vigils in Tokyo and Sydney on Friday to pay their respects after at least 84 people were killed when an attacker ploughed a heavy truck into crowds marking Bastille day in Nice. In Tokyo, a group of French nationals gathered at the residency of France's ambassador to Japan. In Sydney, members of the local French community, some draped in their country's flag, lit candles and held a minute of silence for the victims of what President Francois Hollande has called a terrorist act. (Reuters)
The ex-wife of the attacker is reportedly being questioned, BFMTV reported.
Police have found no weapons or explosives at the home of the assailant during the searches, iTele reported. Experts seized a computer for examination.
French President Francois Hollande told reporters that "about 50 people are in an absolute urgency between life and death" following the attack.
The figure grew by 10 from earlier estimates.
The French leader added that "many foreigners" are among the victims.
WikiLeaks has tweeted that it believes the response to the Nice attack will be "to mandate the fitting of remote control vehicle kill-switches."
RT’s Lizzie Phelan was live on location in Nice
RT spoke to Antoine Marchois, a Nice resident who bore witness to the attack.
“The place where the terror act happened – it is just around the corner, I can see it from my balcony. No one can walk there. Everything is cordoned off. No one can go to the beach. Few people are outside actually, lots of police and even helicopters. The atmosphere is sad. Security in France is zero. Nothing has changed since Paris attacks. Literally nothing. The only thing which can probably be done is to bring the army here. Police is useless.”
The ID found in the truck used to terrorize Nice matches the identity of the attacker – a 31-year-old petty criminal, officials told the AP.
Tunisian security sources have revealed to Reuters that the suspect in the Nice attack is from the Tunisian town of Msaken. They add that the suspect was last known to have traveled there four years ago.
The top Saudi clerical body has condemned the attack, but also pointed the finger at Syrian President Bashar Assad in the process, alleging that the terror attack should not distract people from the “crimes of the Syrian regime,” local media reported.
The Russian citizen killed in the attack was a fourth year student at the Russian Government Financial University, Viktoria Savchenko, the institution reports. Doctors say she died of heavy injuries sustained in the terror attack. She was visiting Nice with her friend, who also suffered injuries and is now receiving treatment.
Watch RT's latest report on Nice terror attack
President Hollande has arrived in Nice, AFP reports.
The US State Department has confirmed the deaths of two Americans.
A second ID was discovered by the police during the sweep of the suspect's truck, local media reports.
The director of the Clinique Saint George, Sylvain Lambert, says the hospital has received 20 people Thursday night, and a further 12 on Friday, three of them with critical injuries. “Operations went quite well, there is no risk for their health. All of them are more or less fine, many are traumatized due to shock. There are also many people who were not gravely injured and who refused to go to the hospital. So the total number of those injured will be clear later.”
French local media have identified the truck driver as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. It was revealed earlier that he was a 31-year-old French national who was born in Tunisia.
RT talked to a Russian eyewitness, Maria, who was in Nice for summer language courses. She said she was on the square near the embankment at the time of the attack. People panicked, “many hid in shops and restaurants. I thought that wasn’t a very good idea, so I found an apartment building. It was open, so I hid inside.” She was joined by other people, all of them hiding out in the lobby for two hours before the police arrived and started frisking everyone.
France has declared that the country will observe three days of national mourning in the wake of the deadly attack, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.
Valls added that the period of mourning would start on Saturday July 16.
Germany will boost border controls at airports as well as road and rail crossings into France after the truck attack in Nice, the Federal Police said on Friday. “In coordination with the French security authorities the federal police are strengthening their control in the area of cross-border traffic into France,” the police said in a statement. At least 84 people were killed and dozens more were injured after a gunman drove a truck at high speed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the southern French sea resort. (Reuters)
Later on Friday, the French embassy in Moscow will provide a book for Russian people wishing to express their condolences to France over the Nice terrorist attack, it told TASS news agency. Russians have been bringing flowers and stuffed animals to the French embassy, creating an impromptu memorial for victims of the truck rampage.
Terrorists are waging war on France, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, noting that this time the attack had come on the country’s national day.
President Barack Obama condemned what he said “appears to be a horrific terrorist attack” in Nice. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loved-ones of those killed.” Noting that the attack occurred on Bastille Day, Obama praised “the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world.” Secretary of State John Kerry called it a “horrendous attack in Nice. ... I was proud to stand alongside French leaders earlier today at Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, and the United States will continue to stand firmly with the French people during this time of tragedy.” Both presidential candidates also condemned the attacks, with Republican Donald Trump declaring “this is war” and Democrat Hillary Clinton vowing “we will not be intimidated.” (AP)
Police have raided the house of the suspected Nice attacker, after a sweep of the truck was made in which his papers were discovered, local TV reports. This led law enforcers to the address. Among other things discovered in the truck were a telephone, a 7.65mm handgun, several replica grenades and other weapons.
At least 54 children have been taken to the local Lenval Hospital following the attack, Nice Matin newspaper reported.
One Ukrainian citizen was killed and another injured in the Nice attack, Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin confirmed.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday told his Russian counterpart in Moscow that the attack in the French city of Nice showed the need to find a faster way to end the "terrorist scourge."
Kerry, in opening remarks at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said his talks late on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin had been "extremely frank and very serious." (Reuters)
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the death of one Russian citizen – a woman. She was with a friend, who sustained injuries.
President Putin expressed condolences to Francois Hollande, calling the Nice attack “barbaric and inhumane”. The Russian leader said Russia is ready to work with France to face the threat of terrorism together.
“What is amazing is the cruelty and cynicism of this crime perpetrated on your country during its national holiday. We have once again witnessed the fact that terrorism cares not for morality: its victims are innocents who have done no one harm - women, children.”
The Russian president called for “unity” in fighting terrorism.
Muscovites are showing their solidarity with the Nice victims, showing up at the French embassy to lay flowers.
The truck used in Nice was rented several days prior to the attack, a police source told AFP.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the Nice attack on the sidelines of the ASEM summit in Mongolia. "Germany stands in the fight against terrorism at France's side, united with many, many others. I am convinced that, despite all the difficulties, we shall win this fight."
Route of the truck driver’s killing spree.
According to a police source, the Nice truck attacker was known to French police in connection with common crimes, but not to intelligence services, Reuters reports.
The Nice truck attacker allegedly used a pistol when firing at police, AFP reported, citing investigative sources as saying.
Hospitals in Nice are appealing to people to donate blood. Local media posted a map of “calls” for blood.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said he was “touched and afflicted by the terrible ordeal” in Nice.
“What happened in Nice is contrary to everything that unites us here in Mongolia,” he said.
Opening a plenary session at the ASEM summit, Juncker vowed to continue the EU’s “fight against terrorism inside and outside” the bloc.
Buildings in New York Сity and Dallas, Texas, have been lit up in the red, blue and white of the French tricolor in solidarity with Nice.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel have condemned the attack as the two held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Mongolia.
Some 100 people reportedly jumped into the Mediterranean Sea in a bid to escape the attack. All of the people were safely recovered from the water.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has “directed state law enforcement officials to step up security at high-profile locations around the state, including our airports, bridges, tunnels and mass transit systems.”
Investigators are working on detecting the identity of the attacker, the Interior Ministry said. The public prosecutor is expected to unveil more details later.
France has raised its national security alert system Plan Vigipirate across the Alpes-Maritimes area to its highest level, "alert attack," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Cazeneuve has announced a "total" mobilization.
The Interior Ministry has confirmed that 80 people have been killed in the attack and 18 wounded are in critical condition.
France’s state of emergency is to be extended for three months, Hollande said.
Following the attack, France will recruit an extra 10,000 extra military police officers, Hollande says.
“France as a whole is under a threat of Islamic terrorism,” Holland says.
The French president says there are “several children” among the victims of the “horrible attack.”
President Hollande is addressing the nation.
Police have told the media that identification documents have been found in the truck. Earlier reports said the attacker was of Tunisian origin.
The number of fatalities has reached 80, according to the latest reports.
French President has expressed solidarity and support to the people of Nice. Hollande is expected to address the press at 3:30 am local time (0130 GMT).
A truck driver behind Nice’s “worst attack in history” has been reported to be a 31-year old man of Tunisian origin, Nice-Matin said citing its sources.
A Rihanna concert in Nice scheduled on July 15 has been canceled along with the 4-day jazz festival, slated for July 16-20.
In Nice, flags around the city will also be at half-staff, mayor Estrosi has said on Twitter.
Flags around Paris will be lowered to half-staff in tribute to over 70 people killed in Nice attack, the city’s mayor Anne Hidalgo has said.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed condolences to France.
Nice Mayor Estrosi has announced that the number of killed in the attack now stands at 77 people.
Witness Oymou Diallo, who was on the promenade at the time of the attack, told RT how the panic unraveled. She didn’t hear the sound of explosion or gunfire, as she was too scared for her life to pay attention to what was going on around her.
“We were just at the promenade looking for the fireworks for the 14th of July and then people just began to run, we don’t know why. So we began to run too and people said it may it’s a bomb or maybe it is terrorism, so we were just afraid and began to run too.”
Le Figaro newspaper reports that 76 people have been killed in the attack, according to the latest estimates.
France’s anti-terror committee has taken over the police operation in Nice, local media reports.
President Obama has issued a statement on "a horrific terrorist attack in Nice."
The luxurious Hotel Negresco in Nice has been turned into a makeshift help center for victims and survivors of the attack.
14 July 2016
President Hollande and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls have discussed the Nice attack at the crisis center in Paris.
France’s Nice-Matin daily reports that the death toll has risen to 74 people. Another 42 wounded are in critical condition, it said.
Following the attack in Nice, Donald Trump has postponed his Friday news conference, where he was expected to announce his Vice President pick.
Footage of a truck driving through a crowd of people in Nice has emerged on social media.
Nice Mayor Estrosi has told BFM TV that the truck was "loaded with weapons and grenades".
At least 73 people have been killed and some 50 injured said to be in very serious condition, according to the latest reports.
Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, has confirmed that “over 70 people” have been killed in what he called the “worst tragedy in Nice’s history.”
Raw video from the scene shows scores of people running in panic after a truck hit the crowd during Bastille Day fireworks in Nice.
Le Figaro newspaper says the death toll has reached at least 73 people, according to a police source.
The Interior Ministry has confirmed that the person who drove the truck into the crowd amid fireworks has been neutralized. The investigation is now working to determine if he acted alone.
US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the truck attack in Nice, the White House said.
"The president has been apprised of the situation in Nice, France, and his national security team will update him, as appropriate," said Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, in a statement.
The French Interior Ministry has denied earlier conflicting reports that there is an ongoing hostage situation at either Nice’s Meridien Hotel or at a restaurant.
French President Francois Hollande is being taken to an Interior Ministry crisis center, his office has said.
Police on alert in Nice.
At least 60 people have been killed, the Nice prosecutor’s office has told local itele TV channel.
Facebook has activated a Safety Check button for people to inform friends and relatives about their condition during the attack.
A hostage situation is reportedly unfolding at the Meridien Hotel in Nice.
Paris police say fireworks aboard a truck have ignited near the Eiffel Tower, and are urging people to avoid the area.
An eyewitness has told RT that he was at the beach near the scene, when “all of a sudden we heard [gunfire].”
“We started running for the shelter,” Eric Drattell said. “We were told [by the police] to stay in the shelter, about a hundred or so people are crowded down here and the people started drifting toward the entrance about ten minutes ago and the police told everybody to get back.”
A local official has told local BFM TV that at least people 30 have been killed and another 100 injured. The driver of the truck that plowed into the crowd is also dead, he said.
Watch RT special coverage on Bastille Day “attack” in France
Local media has dubbed the incident an act of terror, reporting at least 50 fatalities. No official confirmation has been released so far.
President of the Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur region Christian Estrosi said on Twitter that “dozens” of people were been killed in the incident.
Panic broke out at Bastille Day festivities after a truck reportedly drove into a crowd of celebrants in the southern French city of Nice.