Bloodbath leaves 84 dead during French Bastille Day celebrations

A truck plowed into a crowd on a seaside promenade in Nice, southern France, during a special celebration of France's Bastille Day, killing at least 84 people and injuring many more.

France suffered a bloody attack on its national day. On Thursday evening (July 14), a truck drove into a crowd on the city's seaside promenade in the southern French city of Nice, mowing down people.

According to official reports, at least 84 people were killed in the attack, including children. Fifty people were injured, 20 of whom are in critical condition and in danger of dying.

The attack took place on a wide promenade along the Nice coast, a popular tourist spot.

According to police officials, the attack took place at 11:00 PM on Thursday, moments after a fireworks display to mark France's Bastille Day celebrations.

National Prosecutors' officials said that the truck traveled a distance of 2 kilometers during its attack and ran over the crowd. The latest results of the attack indicate that the attacker was also holding a gun and was shooting at the crowd during his attack.

Police shot and killed the attacker while he was still behind the wheel. Photos of the truck published by AFP show its body and windshield riddled with bullet holes.

Transfer of investigation to the counterterrorism department

According to Nice police sources, they found identification documents for a 31-year-old Frenchman of Tunisian descent in the truck. In addition, a quantity of weapons and grenades were discovered.

An investigation into the attack has been launched and is now being handled by French counter-terrorism officers. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and it is unclear whether the truck driver acted alone or was assisted by others.

An AFP correspondent who was at the scene of the attack and witnessed it said: "We saw how people were trampled and various objects were thrown everywhere. The terrified crowd was trying to escape."

The regional governor, Christian Ströss, has urged people to stay home and avoid the streets. The German Foreign Ministry has also called on German citizens in the region to follow the instructions and advice of French security forces.

Hollande vows to decisively confront terrorism

French President Francois Hollande gave a televised address after the incident, calling it a “terrorist attack.” He said the state of emergency in France would be extended for another three months.

A state of emergency has been in place in France since the deadly Paris attacks in November last year.

The French president, shocked by the attack, has stated that "Islamist terrorism" threatens all of France.

He spoke of taking decisive measures to combat this trend and emphasized: "We will do our utmost to fight the yoke of terrorism. We will punish those who carry out such attacks on our soil."

The United Nations Security Council also condemned the attack, calling it a "barbaric and cowardly act of terrorists."

Source: Deutsche Welle