A large truck mowed through revelers gathered for Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, killing at least 84 people and sending people fleeing into the sea as it bore down for more than a mile along the Riviera city’s famed waterfront promenade.
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“France is struck on the day of its National Day, on 14th of July, a symbol of freedom and liberty, human rights denied by these fanatics”.
‘People are running. It’s panic.
Following the truck attack in Nice (France) that left at least 77 people dead, the president of the region has cancelled the city’s jazz festival and a Rihanna concert. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into “murder, attempted murder in an organized group linked to a terrorist enterprise”, to be led by the country’s intelligence agency and judicial police, the Associated Press reports.
“With the terrorist attack in France, we have once again seen the true face of evil”, said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul.
Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton said: “Every American stands in strong solidarity with the people of France”.
Regional president Christian Estrosi confirmed the death toll in a post on Twitter, calling Thursday “the worst tragedy in the history of Nice”.
She also expressed deepest condolences to the families of those killed and called for a “strict action and harsh punishment against those who are behind the attack”.
French President Francois Hollande gestures after a televised interview following the Bastille Day Parade in Paris at the Elysee Palace.
It is the third major terrorist attack in France in less than two years.
Daesh, known as ISIS/ISIL has called on followers to attack western targets, using cars, knives or rocks.
The UN Security Council strongly condemned the “barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack” that occurred during Bastille Day celebrations. That U.S. base is involved in the battle against the Islamic State group. “We ran into a hotel and hid in the toilets with lots of people”.
“I saw bodies flying like skittles as it drove along”, said local journalist Damien Allemand on the Nice-Matin newspaper’s web site. Officials and eyewitnesses described as a deliberate attack.
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Witness Lucy Nesbitt-Comaskey told Sky News: “I said to my friend “This doesn’t sound like fireworks, it sounds like Beirut when it’s under fire”. We will provide whatever support is needed”, Kerry said. “I saw a truck driving into the pedestrian area, going very fast and zig-zagging”.
