The attack that left Nice shaken during Bastille Day celebrations had been planned for months with help from accomplices, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins revealed on Thursday. Islamic State has claimed the killer was one of its “soldiers”, though the French authorities say they have not found any direct links to the terrorist group.
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More than 80 people died when a Tunisian man, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, ploughed a lorry into crowds out celebrating Bastille Day on 14 July.
Early reports suggested Bouhlel, a Tunisian citizen, was recently radicalized, but Molins said investigators confirmed what he termed “the premeditated character” of the attack. Investigators also found photos of Mohamed Oualid in the truck used to carry out the attack on July 11 and 13, while video surveillance placed Chokri with Bouhlel in the truck just hours before the attack.
Moulins said Bouhlel “benefited from support and complicity” and regularly communicated with the five suspects arrested Thursday, sending a text to one on April 4 that read: “Load the truck with 2000 tons of iron, cut the brake and I’ll watch you”.
The disclosures raise the possibility that Lahouaiej Bouhlel and his suspected accomplices were part of a broader jihadist group that went undetected, in what would be another security failing by French authorities after two major terror attacks over the past 18 months. Joggers, cyclists and sun-seekers are back on Nice’s famed Riviera coast, a further sign of normal life returning on the Promenade des Anglais where dozens were killed in last week’s Bastille Day truck attack.
The security measure had been in place since the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130.
Paris prosecutor François Molins said authorities found “revealing” online searches and photos on the cellphone and laptop belonging to Nice killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel dating back to previous year, including photos of the 2015 fireworks display.
After ploughing down the promenade, Lahouaiej Bouhlel shot multiple times at three police officers, who followed the truck as it continued for another 300 metres. “I’m happy they have brought some of Allah’s soldiers to finish the job”.
It is unusual that the suspect would announce his plans for the attack and a possible future one via traceable and indiscreet means of communication such as audio recordings, text and Facebook messages.
Cazeneuve said Thursday that only local police, who are more lightly armed, were guarding the entrance to the Promenade des Anglais when Bouhlel drove his truck down it. Cazeneuve then launched an internal police investigation into the handling of the Nice attack.
Hollande also outlined plans for expanded military deployment within France this summer, and defended his interior minister’s handling of the Nice police presence. Possibly it was deliberate for authorities to be aware that the attack was indeed in the name of the Islamic State.
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The National Assembly, meanwhile, extended France’s state of emergency for six more months.
