A truck plowed into pedestrians during Bastille Day celebrations in the popular French seaside city of Nice Thursday, leaving at least 84 people dead in what the nation’s president called “obviously a terrorist attack.”
The deadly toll, which included several children, came after the truck slammed into revelers gathered on a promenade to watch fireworks, French President Francois Hollande said in an address Friday morning.
“Such a monstrosity,” Hollande said. He pledged to step up efforts to fight terror in Iraq and Syria, and extended a state of emergency for three months.
“France is deeply saddened, but it is also very strong,” Hollande said. “I can assure you we will always be stronger than the fanatics who are trying to attack us.”
The driver was killed by police, Hollande said. It is unknown if there were accomplices, Hollande said. French media, citing a police source, reported that ID papers belonging to a French-Tunisian were found in the truck. A source told NBC News the driver is believed to have been a French national of Tunisian descent.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility by ISIS through its official or unofficial channels, according to Flashpoint Intelligence, an international terrorism research organization.
Hollande said he will be calling up operational reserves to help police, and the nation was placed at high alert. He said the country’s military campaign against the terror group ISIS in Iraq and Syria would increase.
The truck struck the crowd at around 10:40 p.m. local time (4:40 p.m. ET) shortly after a fireworks display, officials and witnesses said.
Christian Estrosi, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region that includes Nice, told French media that the driver also shot at people. A senior U.S. military official told NBC News that guns and explosives were found in the truck.
“Nothing will shake us and make us renounce the fight against terrorism,” Hollande said.
At the time of Hollande’s address, 77 people were confirmed dead. A short time later, the French interior minister said the death toll had risen to 80, and 18 others were in critical condition.
U.S. President Barack Obama earlier condemned what he called “what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack” and said the U.S. has offered any assistance France may need. “We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack.”
The United Nations Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack which took place in Nice,” its members said in a statement.
source: nbcnews.com
