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Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel: Who was Nice attacker? Attack on Nice: Who was Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel?
(about 20 hours later)
The man responsible for the Nice Bastille Day lorry attack which killed more than 80 people has been named as a Tunisian delivery man, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31. The man who killed more than 80 people in Nice by driving a lorry through a crowd has been named as a Tunisian delivery man, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel - not a known jihadist.
Not known to French intelligence services for radicalisation, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was identified by his fingerprints after his driver's licence, mobile phone and credit card were found inside the vehicle by police who shot him dead. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the killer had apparently been radicalised very quickly.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was from the northern Tunisian town of Msaken, about 10km (6 miles) outside the coastal city of Sousse. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, was identified by his fingerprints after his driver's licence, mobile phone and credit card were found inside the vehicle by police who had shot him dead.
The BBC's Rana Jawad visited the town where locals told her that many people know his family and are shocked by his actions. He had reconnoitred the area in the lorry on the two days before the 14 July Bastille Day attack, when he smashed into the crowd on Nice's famous beachfront, the Promenade des Anglais.
"Although he has not lived in the town for a long time - he left some time ago to study engineering - we remember him as a normal person from a wealthy family," a town resident told her. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was from the north Tunisian town of Msaken, about 10km (6 miles) outside the coastal city of Sousse.
While many who know him describe Lahouaiej-Bouhlel as being secular, other witnesses have pointed out that more recently he displayed outward signs of becoming more religious. He was not known to French intelligence services for radicalisation. But so-called Islamic State (IS) says he acted in response to its calls to target civilians in countries that are part of the coalition ranged against the group.
He appeared to have been radicalised very quickly, French authorities say. It has emerged that he had a history of violence and mental instability.
So-called Islamic State said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was acting in response to its calls to target civilians in countries that are part of the anti-IS coalition. Neighbours have described him as a violent loner who liked to drink and lift weights. He would also like to go salsa-dancing.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel visited Tunisia frequently, the last time eight months ago, sources told the BBC. Some reports say that he carried out a reconnaissance of the attack site in Nice two day before committing mass murder. Police have examined the hard drive of his computer, French radio station Europe 1 reports, and found video clips showing atrocities carried out by IS. A fascination with such acts is thought to have attracted him to IS.
Psychiatrist Chamseddine Hamouda carried out a mental assessment of the killer a few years ago after his father became concerned about his "troubling behaviour of a psychotic nature". Police say Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was married with three children, although he no longer lived with his wife, who was detained for questioning by police on 15 July.
"He was a stranger to himself," Mr Hamouda said, "I advised his parents that he needed treatment." A woman who knows the family told the BBC Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had been thrown out of their home in the Le Ray area of Nice more than a year ago after allegedly beating his wife.
"At the time he exhibited violent behaviour towards his family, but one cannot imagine that a person like that could carry out such a horrific and bloody crime on this scale. He reserved the 19-tonne refrigeration lorry on 4 July and collected it on 11 July in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, just west of Nice.
"I'm sure that in the past 12 years something else happened that perhaps influenced how he thought." During his reconnaissance trips, he sent a selfie photo from the driver's cabin.
Mr Hamouda said that whether Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was indoctrinated or mentally ill, "it does not lessen the horror of the operation he carried out". Just minutes before launching his attack he sent text messages asking accomplices to give him more weapons and boasting about having obtained a pistol. He fired that pistol at police during his rampage, before police shot him dead.
"Bring more weapons, bring five to C," one of the messages said.
Police are trying to ascertain who the message recipients were.
Four men who knew Lahouaiej-Bouhlel are being questioned by police, as are an Albanian couple suspected of having given him logistical help.
'Quiet loner''Quiet loner'
Police say the attacker was married with three children, although he no longer lived with his wife, who was detained for questioning by police on Friday. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel visited Tunisia frequently, the last time eight months ago, sources told the BBC.
A woman who knows the family told the BBC that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was thrown out of their home in the Le Ray area of Nice more than a year ago after allegedly beating his wife. The BBC's Rana Jawad visited Msaken, the town where locals told her that many people knew his family and were shocked by his actions.
Several neighbours in the four-storey block of flats in the Abattoirs area where he subsequently moved described him as "quiet" and a "loner" who did not respond to their greetings. "We remember him as a normal person from a wealthy family," a town resident told her.
While many who knew him described Lahouaiej-Bouhlel as being secular, other witnesses pointed out that more recently he had displayed outward signs of becoming more religious.
A psychiatrist, Chamseddine Hamouda, carried out a mental assessment of the killer a few years ago after his father became concerned about his "troubling behaviour of a psychotic nature".
"He was a stranger to himself," Mr Hamouda said. "I advised his parents that he needed treatment.
"At the time he exhibited violent behaviour towards his family... I'm sure that in the past 12 years something else happened that perhaps influenced how he thought."
He was a "quiet" "loner" who did not respond to greetings, according to several neighbours in the four-storey block of flats in the Abattoirs area of Nice where he lived.
He had a van parked nearby and would often be seen climbing the stairs to his first-floor flat, carrying his bike.He had a van parked nearby and would often be seen climbing the stairs to his first-floor flat, carrying his bike.
He also did not seem overtly religious. Locals said he was often seen drinking beer and never attended the small mosque near his block of flats. He also did not seem overtly religious. He was often seen drinking beer and never attended the small mosque near his block of flats, witnesses say.
Anan, who lived on the ground floor, said she was suspicious of him because he was "a good-looking man who kept giving my two daughters the eye". Anan, who lived on the ground floor, said she had been suspicious of him because he was "a good-looking man who kept giving my two daughters the eye".
One woman recalled that he was nice to her and helped her all the time. But, she said, his behaviour was sometimes "strange". One woman recalled that he had been nice to her and had helped her all the time. But, she added, his behaviour had sometimes been "strange".
He once asked to rent her mailbox and that when she refused he had called her "nasty", she added. When she learnt of the attack, she immediately wondered if he might have been involved. Suspended sentence
Investigators and forensic experts raided his flat and seized a telephone and computer.
Assault
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had been in trouble with police between 2010 and 2016 for threatening behaviour, violence and petty theft.Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had been in trouble with police between 2010 and 2016 for threatening behaviour, violence and petty theft.
In March, a court in Nice convicted him of assaulting a motorist with an improvised weapon - a wooden pallet - during an altercation and handed him a six-month suspended prison sentence. He had to contact police once a week, which he did.In March, a court in Nice convicted him of assaulting a motorist with an improvised weapon - a wooden pallet - during an altercation and handed him a six-month suspended prison sentence. He had to contact police once a week, which he did.
The 19-tonne refrigerated lorry used in the attack was rented on 11 July in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, just to the west of Nice. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "never flagged for signs of radicalisation", officials say, and he was not on France's "Fiche S" high-security watch list.
The attack began at about 22:30 on Thursday, when the lorry turned on to the Promenade des Anglais, where a huge crowd was gathered for a Bastille Day fireworks display. The majority of attacks carried out in the country since January 2015 have been staged by men designated "Fiche S", and also linked to IS.
The lorry drove for 2km (1.2 miles) along the seafront boulevard, swerving from side to side in an apparent effort to kill as many people as possible.
When he reached the famous Negresco Hotel, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel fired repeatedly at three policemen.
They returned fire and pursued the lorry for another 300m (985ft), before shooting him dead inside the cabin near the Palais de la Mediterranee hotel.
Nader El Shafei, an Egyptian who was on holiday in Nice, told the BBC that the driver looked "very nervous" during the attack.
Inside the lorry after his death police found one automatic pistol, bullets and two replica assault rifles, as well as another fake pistol and a dummy grenade.
'Never flagged'
Officials say Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "never flagged for signs of radicalisation".
Anyone seen as a threat to state security in France has what the government refers to as a "fiche S".
The majority of attacks carried out in the country since January 2015 have been staged by men designated with a "fiche S", and also linked to so-called Islamic State (IS).
In 2014, IS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani told supporters in an audio message: "If you can't detonate a bomb or fire a shot, manage by yourself... run them over with your car."In 2014, IS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani told supporters in an audio message: "If you can't detonate a bomb or fire a shot, manage by yourself... run them over with your car."
Many of France's jihadist killers, starting with Mohammed Merah in Toulouse in 2012, also began their journey towards militant Islam as petty criminals.Many of France's jihadist killers, starting with Mohammed Merah in Toulouse in 2012, also began their journey towards militant Islam as petty criminals.