Chaos erupted on the streets of the Mediterranean city on Thursday night after the lorry ploughed into revellers who had gathered to celebrate the French national day.
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The local newspaper Nice-Matin and French broadcaster BFMTV reported that the attacker is a 31-year-old local resident with dual French-Tunisian nationality, while citing security sources who said an ID card had been found inside the truck.
Bloodied bodies of the victims lay on the road and many were seen recuperating on the side walk.
France’s interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 84 people were killed, including children, and 18 were in a critical condition. The state of emergency initiated after those attacks which has now been extended was due to be lifted later this month.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack on Bastille Day”, the UNSC said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Nice, France as they work to deal with the challenging and troubling circumstances created by this horrific attack”, according to the sheriff’s department statement.
Noting that the attack occurred on Bastille Day, Obama praised “the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world”.
Emergency services and figures across Sussex have taken to social media to show their support for those affected by last night’s attack in the French city of Nice.
Those in France have also been advised to follow the instructions of relevant local authorities in light of the attacks which have so far claimed the lives of over 80 people.
“At this time, we are aware of and can confirm two U.S. citizens were killed in the attack in Nice on July 14, 2016”, spokesman John Kirby said.
“Our deepest condolences to the French people”.
“We’ve got to do more to understand that this is a war against these terrorist groups, the radical jihadist groups”, she said. President Francois Hollande also said the “terrorist characteristics” of the attack “cannot be denied”.
“A fraction of a second later, an enormous white truck came along at a insane speed, turning the wheel to mow down the maximum number of people”, he said. “I saw bodies flying like bowling pins along its route”.
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Addressing the nation after the assault, French President François Hollande said that the assault was of “an undeniable terrorist nature”. Nice was home for a prolific producer of French-language jihadist recruitment videos, a former petty drug dealer named Omar Omsen who is now fighting in Syria.
