Truck attacker ploughs into French crowd, kills 84 revellers in Nice | World News - Hindustan Times
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Truck attacker ploughs into French crowd, kills 84 revellers in Nice

ByReuters, Nice (france)
Jul 15, 2016 09:32 PM IST

An attacker at the wheel of a heavy truck ploughed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing at least 84 people and injuring scores more in what President Francois Hollande called a terrorist act.

An attacker at the wheel of a heavy truck ploughed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing at least 84 people and injuring scores more in what President Francois Hollande called a terrorist act.

Police officers, firefighters and rescue workers are seen at the site of an attack on the Promenade des Anglais.(AFP)
Police officers, firefighters and rescue workers are seen at the site of an attack on the Promenade des Anglais.(AFP)

The driver, identified by a police source as a 31-year-old Tunisian-born Frenchman, also appeared to open fire before officers shot him dead. The man was not on the watch list of French intelligence services, but was known to the police in connection with common crimes such as theft and violence, the source said.

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Read: As it happened: Nice truck attacker identified as French petty criminal

A white truck had zigzagged along the seafront Promenade des Anglais as a fireworks display marking the French National Day ended just after 10:30 p.m. (2030 GMT).

Hollande, who visited the site of attack on Friday, said 50 people were critically wounded and were “between life and death”.

“There are many children... Young children who had come to watch fireworks with their family, to have joy, to share happiness, delight, amazement, and who were struck, struck to death, merely to satisfy the cruelty of an individual – and maybe of a group,” he said.

The Paris prosecutor said 202 people were wounded in the attack, leaving 25 on life support and 52 in critical condition.

People in Australia’s Sydney stand around a circle of candles during a moment of silence at a vigil to honour victims of the Bastille Day tragedy in Nice, France. (AP)
People in Australia’s Sydney stand around a circle of candles during a moment of silence at a vigil to honour victims of the Bastille Day tragedy in Nice, France. (AP)

Read | ‘Absolute chaos’: Screams, flying debris as truck ploughs into Nice crowd

According to one city official, the truck careered on for up to 2km (1.5miles). Several children were among the dead.

“People went down like ninepins,” Jacques, who runs Le Queenie restaurant on the seafront, told France Info radio.

The attack seemed so far to be the work of a lone assailant.

In a pre-dawn address, Hollande said that he was calling up military and police reservists to relieve forces worn out during the state of emergency that began in November. The emergency was imposed after Islamic State (IS) gunmen and suicide bombers struck Paris entertainment spots on a Friday evening, killing 130 people.

Only hours earlier, he had announced the emergency would be lifted by the end of July. Following the attack, he said it would be extended by a further three months.

“France is filled with sadness by this new tragedy,” Hollande said. “There’s no denying the terrorist nature of this attack.”

Read | Scores dead in France truck attack: What we know so far

Bodies are seen on the ground after at least 30 people were killed in Nice, France. (REUTERS)
Bodies are seen on the ground after at least 30 people were killed in Nice, France. (REUTERS)

Major events in France have been guarded by troops and armed police since the November 13 attacks. But it appeared to have taken many minutes to halt the progress of the truck as it tore along pavements and a pedestrian zone.

One witness said she thought the attacker was firing a gun as he drove.

“I saw this enormous white truck go past at top speed,” said Suzy Wargniez, a 65-year-old local woman who was watching from a cafe on the promenade. “It was shooting, shooting.”

A local government official said weapons and grenades were later found inside the rented vehicle.

Nice-Matin newspaper said on Twitter that police were searching the attacker’s home in the Nice neighbourhood of Abattoirs. It gave no source of the information.

Islamic State targets France

After the Paris attacks, IS said France and all nations following its path would remain at the top of its list of targets as long as they continued “their crusader campaign”, referring to action against the group in Iraq and Syria.

France is conducting air strikes and special forces operations against the IS, as well as training Iraqi government and Kurdish forces.

“We will further strengthen our actions in Syria and Iraq,” Hollande said, calling the tragedy on the day that France marks the 1789 revolutionary storming of the Bastille prison in Paris an attack on liberty by fanatics who despised human rights.

Dawn broke on Friday with pavements smeared with dried blood. Smashed children’s strollers, an uneaten baguette and other debris were strewn about the promenade. Small areas were screened off and what appeared to be bodies covered in blankets were visible through the gaps.

Police shine a light into the cab as they approach the driver's cab of a truck, in Nice. (AP)
Police shine a light into the cab as they approach the driver's cab of a truck, in Nice. (AP)

The truck was still where it came to rest, its windscreen riddled with bullets.

There had been no claim of responsibility on Friday morning.

The truck careered into families and friends listening to an orchestra or strolling above the beach on the Mediterranean Sea towards the grand, century-old Hotel Negresco.

Bystander Franck Sidoli said he had seen people go down. “Then the truck stopped, we were just five metres away. A woman was there, she lost her son. Her son was on the ground, bleeding,” he told Reuters at the scene.

Read | Islamic State supporters celebrate deadly attack in France on social media

Police told residents of the city to stay indoors as they conducted further operations. Officials in Italy, just 30 km (20 miles) away, said frontier controls were being stepped up.

The Paris attack in November was the bloodiest among a number in France and Belgium in the past two years. On Sunday, a weary nation had breathed a sigh of relief that the month-long Euro 2016 soccer tournament had ended without incident.

Four months ago, Belgian Islamists linked to the Paris attackers killed 32 people in Brussels.

Vehicle attacks have been used by isolated members of militant groups in recent years, notably in Israel, though never to such devastating effect.

Riders on the Tour de France, the top event on the international cycling calendar, observed a minute’s silence before Thursday’s 13th stage began. Security has been tightened for the three-week event, which is watched by huge crowds lining the route.

Police officers stand near a van, with its windscreen riddled with bullets, that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice. (AFP)
Police officers stand near a van, with its windscreen riddled with bullets, that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice. (AFP)

US President Barack Obama condemned what he said “appears to be a horrific terrorist attack”. Others joining him included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Francis, Spain, Sweden, NATO and the United Nations Security Council.

Turkey, where Islamic State and Kurdish militants have staged a number of attacks in recent months, offered its condolences. “For terrorist groups, there is no difference between Turkey and France, Iraq and Belgium, and Saudi Arabia and the United States,” said President Tayyip Erdogan.

On social media, Islamic State supporters celebrated the high death toll. In 2014 an Islamic State spokesman released an audio recording encouraging “lone wolf” attacks, calling on supporters to kill “any infidel, French, American, or any of their allies”.

Hiding in terror

One woman told France Info that she and others had fled in terror: “The lorry came zig-zagging along the street. We ran into a hotel and hid in the toilets with lots of people.”

Nice-Matin journalist Damien Allemand had been watching the firework display when the truck tore by. After taking cover in a cafe, he wrote on his paper’s website of what he saw when he came back out on the promenade: “Bodies every five metres, limbs ... Blood. Groans.”

“The beach attendants were first on the scene. They brought water for the injured and towels, which they placed on those for whom there was no more hope.”

Italian Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini lays down flowers in front of the French Embassy in Rome on after the deadly attack in Nice. (AFP)
Italian Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini lays down flowers in front of the French Embassy in Rome on after the deadly attack in Nice. (AFP)

Officials have warned of the continuing risk of Islamist attacks in the region. Reverses for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have raised fears it might strike again, again using alienated young men from the continent’s Arab immigrant communities whom it has inspired to take up arms against their home countries.

Nice, a city of 350,000, has a history as a flamboyant, aristocratic resort but is also a gritty metropolis. It has seen dozens of its Muslim residents travel to Syria to fight, a path taken by previous Islamic State attackers in Europe.

At Nice’s Pasteur hospital, medical staff were treating large numbers of injuries. Waiting for friends who were being operated on, 20-year-old Fanny told Reuters she had been lucky.

“We were all very happy, ready to celebrate all night long,” she said. “I saw a truck driving into the pedestrian area, going very fast and zig-zagging.

“The truck pushed me to the side. When I opened my eyes I saw faces I didn’t know and started asking for help ... Some of my friends were not so lucky. They are having operations as we speak. It’s very hard, it’s all very traumatic.”

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