On July 14, 2016, Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day at Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, killing 86 people and wounding more than 430 others. ISIS claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack two days later, calling Lahouaiej-Bouhlel a “soldier of the Islamic State.”
The attack launched a wave of high-profile vehicular terrorist attacks and attempts in Vienna, Ohio, Berlin, London, Antwerp, Stockholm, and Paris. ISIS has claimed responsibility for several of these attacks, lauding several of the assailants as its so-called “soldiers.”
Assailant:
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel: Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was born in M’saken, Tunisia, six miles from Sousse, where ISIS operatives launched an attack on June 26, 2015, killing 28 people. In 2005, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel moved to the coastal French city of Nice, working as a delivery man…
Vehicles as Weapons of Terror:
The Nice attack was the deadliest modern vehicle-ramming attack in the West. Learn more about the threat from vehicular terrorist attacks here.
France Country Report:
France has experienced a series of deadly terrorist attacks in recent years, including the July 2016 Bastille Day attack in Nice, the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris, and the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarket attacks. Learn more about France’s efforts to combat extremism here.