French Prosecutor: Nice Attacker Expressed Online Sympathy for ISIS, Orlando Gunman

As France continues to recover from the violence last week in Nice, French prosecutor Francois Molins said at a press conference today that the attacker had a definite online interest in radical Islamic terrorists.

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian man, was identified last week as the gunman and truck driver who killed over 80 people while injuring scores more on Bastille Day. While Molins said that Bouhlel was neither a devout Muslim, nor had any direct links to terror operatives, his online trail indicates a “clear, recent” interest in the Islamic State.

#Nice attacker had no links to individuals from Islamic State, though his computer showed an interest in them https://t.co/axvKUZFVFf

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 18, 2016

BREAKING: Paris prosecutor: Nice attacker searched online about IS propaganda, Orlando attack, violence.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 18, 2016

Nice attacker didn’t fit religious profile – drank, took drugs but expressed sympathy for #ISIL & grew beard before attack

— euronews (@euronews) July 18, 2016

Molina also said that Bouhlel talked with acquaintances about why ISIS couldn’t be allowed to have its own territory. The prosecutor also said that Bouhlel showed interest in the Orlando nightclub killer Omar Mateen, and that his attack was premeditated with reconnaissance trips and plans for his attack.

[Image via screengrab]

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