At least 84 killed in truck 'terror' in France; death toll expected to rise

By Lee Han-soo

At least 84 people are dead and over 18 injured after a truck was deliberately driven into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day in the French coastal city of Nice Thursday (local time).

French President Francois Hollande described the incident as a terrorist attack on France.

Police shot dead the driver after the truck raced down the famous Promenade des Anglais. They said it was loaded with guns and grenades.

Although no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, prosecutors labeled it an "act of terror" and handed the case to the counter-terrorism unit.

The truck driver, identified as a French-Tunisian, 31, is known to have fired a pistol several times before police shot him dead, a local official said Friday.

“The driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him,'' said Christian Estrosi, the president of Nice, in an interview with BFM TV, a local TV station. “The truck was driven by someone who had a completely premeditated behavior.”

Many children were among those killed.