“So we must still be prudent with what we say on that subject”.
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Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who oversees terrorism investigations, said a search of Bouhlel’s computer had found a clear, recent interest in “radical jihadism”, adding that the attack was obviously premeditated though there was no proof that Bouhlel was directed by an extremist network. Bisexuality, or homosexuality, is forbidden in Islam, although interviews with Bouhlel’s friends and relatives in Nice have revealed that he did not behave, at least until recently, like a devout Muslim.
Ahead of the minute’s silence, being held at the seafront where the attack happened, crowds jeered French Prime Minister Manuel Vall who had joined thousands in mourning. He shouted, “Go back where you came from”.
The leader of the centre-right Republicans party accused President Francois Hollande – nicknamed “Flanby” by detractors after a brand of wobbly custard – of “trembling” in the face of the jihadist threat.
Frank Jordans reported from Nice, France. Neighbors of the man said he hadn’t been religious.
“I told myself I did my job”, he said. School authorities disciplined him for six other incidents.
In a statement Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said French authorities had formalized the identification overnight.
“Protecting the French people is my duty”, he said during a visit to Portugal. Of the six, three have been transferred to the SDAT, Paris’ anti-terror unit.
Other experts warned it’s critical that the French government’s reaction to the latest attack doesn’t further fragment the country.
Forensics officers and policemen look for evidence in a truck on the Promenade des Anglais in the French Riviera town of Nice on July 15, 2016, after the truck plowed through a crowd watching a fireworks display.
Earlier, the ministry had said that three Estonians were among those injured in the attack.
It also emerged that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel took pictures of himself at the wheel of the truck before the attack and shared them by text message.
Authorities identified him by fingerprints after the discovery of his identification card in the truck. The security measure had been in place since the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 victims and were claimed by the Islamic State group. “He carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State”, ISIS wrote.
“We can not exclude that an unbalanced and very violent individual” has been “through a rapid radicalisation, committed to this absolutely despicable crime”, he said.
Eighty-four people were killed in the attack.
Valls noted that now over 2,000 French citizens are involved, to a greater or lesser degree, in the activity of Islamist organizations, including in Syria and Iraq.
The family is not releasing the photo to the media.
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“He had problems. He had a nervous breakdown”. He said that there were 28 people in intensive care, 19 suffering from life-threatening injuries.
