Five arrested in connection with Nice attack News
Five arrested in connection with Nice attack

According to a judicial source, four men believed to be linked to Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian who killed 84 people as he drove a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, have been arrested [BBC report]. One of the men was arrested on Thursday, while the three others were arrested overnight on Friday. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s estranged wife has also been detained by police. These new arrests have come as the development of a meeting between President François Hollande [official website, in French] and his top security advisors in Paris. Cautioning against a temptation to create deep divisions in the country, Hollande termed the attack a terrorist act and extended the state of emergency by three months [JURIST report]. France began three days of national mourning for Nice victims on Saturday.

At least 84 citizens were killed [BBC report] during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice Thursday as Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck through a crowd. He was subsequently killed by Nice police. Thus far, Islamic State has claimed responsibility [ABC News report] for the attack, which followed a call by Islamic State (IS) spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani for IS followers to kill non-believers in the West through any means possible. The Bastille Day attack is the second most deadly in a string of terrorist acts in France, including the November 13 Charlie Hebdo attacks [BBC news archive], which claimed 130 lives, and the murder [BBC report] of two French police officials by a man claiming allegiance to IS.