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Islamic State group claims assailant behind massacre in Nice was a follower

The interior ministry said it was checking the claim.

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“Although yesterday’s attack has not been claimed, this sort of thing fits in perfectly with calls for murder from such terrorist organizations”, Molins added.

Witnesses say the driver, a 31-year-old French-Tunisian national, “zig-zagged” for 1.2 miles on the Promenade des Anglais at about 11 pm local time, hitting helpless pedestrians.

Of the 84 who died, 10 were children.

French authorities on Friday night confirmed 202 people were wounded, 25 of whom were on life support, while 52 were in a critical condition.

At an apartment bloc in the Quartier des Abattoirs, on the outskirts of Nice, neighbors described the father of three as a volatile man, prone to drinking and womanizing, and in the process of divorcing his wife.

French President Francois Hollande has canceled his trip to Prague planned for next week following the deadly attack in Nice.

“Faced with these temptations, faced with this risk, we must recall the unity and cohesion of this country”.

“France was struck on the day of its national holiday, July 14, the symbol of liberty”, Hollande said.

A state of emergency has been in place across France since the Paris attacks carried out by militants from the so-called Islamic State group.

As France mourned the victims of another apparent terror attack, French President Hollande was defiant as he said the country remains under the threat of Islamic State.

There was a visible security presence in Nice on Saturday morning and soldiers were patrolling the front of the main train station Gare De Nice Ville.

Cazeneuve, speaking at the Elysee, disagreed, saying that high security had been assured in the region – including at the Cannes Film Festival and the Nice Carnival.

“We feel safe. My children and my wife live here. We are going to strengthen our efforts in Syria and Iraq against those who are attacking us on our very soil”.

Authorities will also face questions over how Lahouaiej-Bouhlel slipped through the cracks, as initial investigations showed he had a record of petty crime and domestic violence, but no known connection to terrorist groups.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the evening news that Bouhlel was “one way or another” linked to radical Islam.

Her husband, John Lambert, said the couple was nearly struck by Bouhlel.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) issued a statement encouraging people to check with their tour operators before heading to France. He was not a Muslim.

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The 63-year-old businessman said: “The first body that I saw was covered in a sheet and was quite obviously a heavily pregnant woman”.

Christian Estrosi wrote to Hollande the day before the Nice attacks warning more needed to be done to help police deal with security threats