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Attacker in France Kills 84 During Holiday Celebration, France to Extend State of Emergency & Middle East Military Operations

HeadlineJul 15, 2016

At least 84 people are dead in Nice, France, after an attack on a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day. Witnesses said a man in a truck deliberately ran over dozens of people before opening fire. Police then killed the man. One resident of Nice described no longer feeling secure anywhere.

Milos Colic: “Really early, I was in bed, and just when I wake up this morning I had like 100 missed calls from my friends asking what happened. And then I saw the videos. And, well, doesn’t seem safe anymore in France. I mean, I came just a couple of months to start working here, and it’s not really—Nice is not a big city, and it does not attract that much attention. So, if this can be a target, anywhere can be a target.”

Witnesses described bodies strewn for as long as a mile down a seaside promenade where people had gathered to watch fireworks. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the French government has described it as an act of terrorism. It is the second major attack in France since November, when the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria took credit for killing 130 people in Paris. French police have identified the attacker as a 31-year-old Tunisian-born French citizen named Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. France has been under a state of emergency since November. Only hours before the attack, French President François Hollande had said that the state of emergency would be lifted by the end of next week. But early this morning, Hollande said he was calling up reserve police and military forces and that the state of emergency would be extended for another three months.

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