Nice attacked during Bastille Day celebrations. What we know so far

Dozens of people have died and at least 100 have been wounded after a truck drove into a crowd celebrating the 14th of July in the city of Nice, France.

Dozens of people have been killed after a man drove a truck into a crowd (at high speed, allegedly at 80 km/h) along the promenade des Anglais, the seafront of the city of Nice, France, on the 14th of July at 22:40 local time. People were watching a firework display in occasion of the Bastille Day. The driver has been killed by police forces after he allegedly shoot at the crowd. Many spectators report they’ve heard him open fire, supporting the conclusion that the attacker didn’t just drove 2 kilometres along the seafront. Documents found on the truck show the driver was a French man of Tunisian origin. At least 84 people have died and 150 have been wounded, according to officials. Numerous children are among the victims.

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© REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

“I had a few seconds to get out of the way. I had to protect my face from flying debris. We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around. It was absolute chaos,” said Robert Holloway, AFP correspondent.

Christian Estrosi, Nice’s former mayor and incumbent President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, tweeted right after the accident that dozens of people died. He also urged people to not leave their homes.

President of the French Republic François Hollande, who had just declared that an existing state of emergency put in place in the wake of 2015 attacks would have ended on 26 July, has extended it for three further months. Hollande has also added that the accident is “clearly of a terrorist nature”.

All of France is under the threat of Islamic terrorism

Yet, no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, despite many social network accounts close to the Islamic State have cheered the news.

The French Council for the Muslim Faith condemned that attack: “France has just been hit again by an attack of extreme gravity. A heinous and abject attack hitting our country on the day of the national holiday that celebrates values of liberty, equality and fraternity.”

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