Attack in Nice, France

[Broomstick]

Nice, France has been subjected to an attack on Bastille Day, during a public celebration. A large, white truck delibrately drove through the crowd, killing at least 70 and injuring at least 100. The driver was stopped by gunfire, as is obvious from the following picture:



Driver is dead. French media reports guns and grenades in the truck along with the driver.

[Broomstick]

And... death toll up to 75. I expect it will continue to rise for a bit.

Yeah, this guy basically used a truck to murder 70+ people by simply running them down and driving over them.


Fucking fuckers - this shit makes me angry and sad.

[Dalton]

And it was loaded with guns and grenades

[Broomstick]

Carnage stretched over 2 km, and eye-witnesses say the driver accelerated while approaching the crowd. I think it's a safe assumption this was no accident.

[Sea Skimmer]

They had AK-47s and military hand grenades, with the second guy jumping out when the driver was shot to try to start a gun battle. The only surprising thing about this sort of attack though is that it isn't more commonly successful, France and Israel have both have a string of recent vehicle attacks and such things have happened on and off for decades.

[Broomstick]

I thought reports of a second guy involved were untrue... ? Of course, it's a chaotic situation at present.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

When I saw the type of vehicle and the number of people killed, my first assumption was that it must have been a truck bomb, only to find it was much worse

[Channel72]

I'm so fucking sick of this shit...

Yeah, it seems like it was one guy - most likely a French citizen of Tunisian nationality, according to what they're reporting now.

Gee, I wonder what his motivation and/or religious affiliation was? I'm guessing Mormonism.

The only real question is to what extent he received assistance/funding/logistical support from Islamic State, or to what extent he acted autonomously through self-radicalization. Given the weapons he had in that truck, I find it unlikely he acted without assistance.

[Adam Reynolds]

I almost wonder why we haven't had something like this in America yet. Though there aren't the same numbers of Muslims in America as there are in Europe.

[Grumman]

I almost wonder why we haven't had something like this in America yet.

If you're referring to the use of a vehicle as a weapon in a terrorist attack, the 9/11 attacks would presumably qualify.

[Adam Reynolds]

Actually what I meant was that we had an attack free Independence Day, should have clarified that better.

Though I suppose 9/11 would be the extreme form of this.

[Mr Bean]

I almost wonder why we haven't had something like this in America yet. Though there aren't the same numbers of Muslims in America as there are in Europe.

That's not the thing to wonder, the thing to wonder is why we have yet to see the airport bombings we are still to this day hideously vulnerable to thanks to the TSA. Old man runs car into crowd has long been an American issue which is why in America at least large gatherings are gated off with cop cars parked across roads much more than in Europe. Sure some extremist or terrorist could take a rented U-Haul and drive into a farmers market but marches, protests and celebrations are much more covered here in America. And by covered I mean the police are much more proactive about roping things off and setting up barricades. The only large scale gatherings where city life does not get re-directed or roped off is conventions.

[Channel72]

Also, it's more difficult for hardened ISIS Jihadists trained in Syria to actually travel to the US, so the kind of terrorism we see in the US is more about lone-wolf, self-radicalized opportunistic psychopaths who, in practice, are pretty much indistinguishable from your typical white disgruntled asshole who shoots up a movie theater or high school or whatever, except they seem to prefer death-by-cop rather than suicide.

France has an actual problem with individuals with direct connections to organized terror from Syria/Mosul. They've had at least 7 successful terror attacks directly connected to groups active in the Syrian civil war. This latest incident in Nice and the incident in the Bataclan in Paris obviously are the most famous due to the body count, but there were other incidents which we forgot because the body count was much lower, like when a bunch of Jihadists beheaded a factory worker, or shot up Charlie Hebdo's office.

Still, it's hard to get through a typical NYC commute without the thought of terrorism crossing your mind.

[mr friendly guy]

How many of these terrorist attacks are due to people who travel to Europe as opposed to those who are radicalised from the internet? For example the murderers of Lee Rigby were from Africa and raised British and Christian, and converted to Islam in their adult life.

[Rogue 9]

I almost wonder why we haven't had something like this in America yet. Though there aren't the same numbers of Muslims in America as there are in Europe.

As mentioned it's harder for Syrian-trained attackers to get into the country, but also for all the Islamophobia present in American society we don't have the de facto segregation of immigrants and their descendants that prevails in much of western Europe. An American Muslim isn't in a ghetto with all the other Muslims and facing a critical shortage of work and education. We do get radicals, obviously, but the social environment isn't nearly so ripe for breeding them in large numbers like it is in France.

[Dragon Angel]

As mentioned it's harder for Syrian-trained attackers to get into the country, but also for all the Islamophobia present in American society we don't have the de facto segregation of immigrants and their descendants that prevails in much of western Europe. An American Muslim isn't in a ghetto with all the other Muslims and facing a critical shortage of work and education. We do get radicals, obviously, but the social environment isn't nearly so ripe for breeding them in large numbers like it is in France.

I'm not familiar with how the situation is in Europe; is it that bad? State-sanctioned, or is it something that happened to become systemic over time?

It's ... still quite depressing, to say the least.

Gee, I wonder what his motivation and/or religious affiliation was? I'm guessing Mormonism.

Gee, I wonder who came into this discussion with a predetermined agenda? Perhaps invoking Islam right off the bat isn't the best way to begin an honest conversation. It certainly ended up making no sense at all when Omar Mateen's motivations were revealed to extend much beyond his religious beliefs.

Still, it's hard to get through a typical NYC commute without the thought of terrorism crossing your mind.

I and plenty of other people get around just fine on our commutes without that thought in our minds. I'm infinitely more worried about being taken and raped, or spotted by some violent, possibly murderous transphobic asshole, than the Muslim Boogeyman.

[cosmicalstorm]

This was in the Daily Mail two days ago when the update on the German migrant-mass-sexual assaults was published.

France is on the verge of 'civil war', the country's head of intelligence says

Patrick Calvar said mass sexual assault of women by migrants may start it
Believes situation so tense another terror attack could also spark backlash
More than 1,000 women sexually abused in Germany on New Year's Eve

By Peter Allen In Paris For The Daily Mail and Sam Tonkin For Mailonline

Published: 00:32 GMT, 12 July 2016 | Updated: 08:27 GMT, 13 July 2016

France is on the verge of a 'civil war' which could be sparked by the mass sexual assault of women by migrants similar to the one seen in Cologne on New Year's Eve, intelligence chief Patrick Calvar says

France is on the verge of a 'civil war' which could be sparked by the mass sexual assault of women by migrants similar to the one seen in Cologne on New Year's Eve, intelligence chief Patrick Calvar says

Growing tensions between the ‘extreme Right and the Muslim world’ have pushed France to the ‘verge of a civil war’, the country’s most senior security chief has warned.

Patrick Calvar, head of the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) – France’s equivalent of MI5 – made his claim in the wake of last year’s terrorist attacks on Paris.



A total of 147 people were murdered by terrorists in the capital during atrocities in January and November.

Many of those responsible were French passport holders with North African backgrounds, leading to far-Right politicians calling for a massive clampdown on immigration.

But Mr Calvar, 60, warned there is evidence that radical Right-wing French groups have been massing arms in preparation for their own attacks on mosques and synagogues.

‘I think we will win against terrorism,’ Mr Calvar said, but predicted the ‘confrontation between the extreme Right and the Muslim world’, adding: ‘We’re on the verge of a civil war. I think this confrontation is going to happen. One or two more attacks and it will take place. It is up to us to anticipate and stop all those groups who would trigger clashes.’

The closed inquiry was held on May 24, but Mr Calvar’s dramatic comments were leaked to French media yesterday. He said: ‘Where is the spark going to come from that will light the powder, transforming France into an uncontrollable country where groups take up arms and hand out their own justice? Who sees a crumbling country where violence and vengeance alternates between two camps, where the spiral of attacks does not stop?


Police in Cologne are investigating a staggering 359 sexual assaults and a total of 821 complaints after a migrant mob went on the rampage in the city on New Year's Eve close to the cathedral, \n\nRead more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z4DQgjPoyn \nFollow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Revealed: 1,200 women were sexually assaulted by 2,000 men...

EXCLUSIVE: 'How DARE Brussels tell us how many migrants can...

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‘Nothing is excluded in a country which is already as eruptive as France today.’

Mr Calvar said he particularly feared ‘punitive expeditions in the suburbs’ to make immigrants pay collectively for alleged crimes by a minority. Referring to the mass sex attacks in Germany on New Year’s Eve, Mr Calvar said French Right-wingers could hand out summary justice for the kind of ‘gang rapes committed by North African immigrants in Cologne’.

There have been no convictions for rape following the Cologne incidents, with German police saying CCTV evidence was not good enough to charge suspects.

Mr Calvar also said his nightmare scenario could just as easily be applied to European neighbours, including Britain. ‘It’s this that worries me when I talk to all the European colleagues,’ he said. ‘We will, at one time or another, have to generate resources to deal with other extremist groups, because the confrontation is inevitable.’

Mr Calvar said all extremist groups – Left, Right and Islamist – know that there is enough weakness in the European security apparatus for a small group to ‘cause maximum chaos’.

He specifically called for more money to be put into armaments and other resources for the security forces, and for greater legal powers to carry out surveillance and arrest suspects.



Sexual assaults: Yesterday a leaked report revealed a staggering 1,200 women were sexually abused in German cities during the New Year's Eve celebrations. The night of December 31 in Cologne is pictured


Sexual assaults: Yesterday a leaked report revealed a staggering 1,200 women were sexually abused in German cities during the New Year's Eve celebrations. The night of December 31 in Cologne is pictured

He also said he is ‘convinced’ that Islamic State will change its tactics in France, and increase its firepower, which until now has mainly relied on outdated AK-47 rifles and suicide belts.

He said he feared a move towards car bombs and more conventional explosive devices, allowing terrorists to attack without risking their own lives, and that he believed Islamist extremists will look to use booby-trapped cars in the future.

He said: ‘I’m convinced they’ll go to booby-trapped vehicles and bombs, thus upping their power.

‘We know very well they’re going to use this mode of operating.

‘They’re going to end up sending commandos whose mission is to organise terrorist campaigns without necessarily going to the assault with death awaiting them.’

He also raised the possibility of extremists using ‘dirty bombs’ and the natural poison ricin, saying several radical groups had studied the toxin in the past.

The Armed Islamic Group, which caused terror in Algeria in the early 1990s, was looking to put the substance on car door handles to create a panic effect, Mr Calvar said, and this tactic was also studied in northern Iraq and in the remote Pankisi Valley in Georgia, once a stronghold of Chechen militants.


Earlier this week a leaked report revealed a staggering 1,200 women were sexually abused in German cities during the New Year's Eve celebrations.


Migrants take to Cologne streets to condemn assaults on women


The police document said detectives believe 2,000 men were involved across various cities but that the bulk of the crimes were committed in Cologne and Hamburg, where 600 and 400 sexual assaults on women were reported respectively.

Of the 2,000 perpetrators, only 120 have been identified, and about half of them were foreign nationals who had only recently arrived in Germany.

Eyewitnesses described the night of December 31, which saw many Arab and North African asylum seekers and immigrants gang rape and attack hundreds of women, as being akin to a war zone.

The warning from Mr Calvar follows similar concerns expressed by prominent police, army and security experts from across Europe.

In May the former head of MI6, Richard Dearlove, said Europe would face a 'populist uprising' if its governments did not take control of the migrant crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also told by security experts last October that middle class citizens in Germany were becoming 'radicalised' because of her open borders migrant policy.


She was warned that it could lead to widespread disorder


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z4ESCM564x
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Also, it's more difficult for hardened ISIS Jihadists trained in Syria to actually travel to the US, so the kind of terrorism we see in the US is more about lone-wolf, self-radicalized opportunistic psychopaths who, in practice, are pretty much indistinguishable from your typical white disgruntled asshole who shoots up a movie theater or high school or whatever, except they seem to prefer death-by-cop rather than suicide.

France has an actual problem with individuals with direct connections to organized terror from Syria/Mosul. They've had at least 7 successful terror attacks directly connected to groups active in the Syrian civil war. This latest incident in Nice and the incident in the Bataclan in Paris obviously are the most famous due to the body count, but there were other incidents which we forgot because the body count was much lower, like when a bunch of Jihadists beheaded a factory worker, or shot up Charlie Hebdo's office.

Still, it's hard to get through a typical NYC commute without the thought of terrorism crossing your mind.

Europe itself has enough of an underworld that with the right connections, one could get the weapons and travel across the continent. There are plenty of weapons circulating in the aftermath of the Balkan wars and what not wars in Central Asia.

And even weapons were not involved, all you need is someone with enough discipline and planning to pull off an attack of this kind.

[Dartzap]

Must admit, when I saw the initial report before I went to bed that my strongest initial thought was'another diabetic lorry driver fitting'

Then I wake up...

For fucks sake.

[MKSheppard]

Now up to like 84 dead.

As a professional heavy vehicle driver, this has always been in the back of my head, particularly as more and more vehicles are delivered with semi automatic transmissions making the only deterrent to anyone driving a heavy truck the fear of law -- driving unlicensed.

[PainRack]

I dont get it...Why France???

[Dartzap]

I dont get it...Why France???

Large amount of immigration from its former colonies, many of whom live in squalor. Combine that with France intervening in North Africa and the Middle East, you can see how it could be a gold mine for radicalism. Also doesn't help that the security services arnt up to much, prevention wise.

[wautd]

I dont get it...Why France???

Because France is not only bombing them in Syria and Iraq, but France as a symbol (secularization/laïcité, its joie de vivre, freedom of speech,...) is everything religious fanatics hate.

edit: and what Dartzap said

[Wild Zontargs]

The attacker has been formally identified, according to the Nice-Matin. Google Translated:

INFO NICE MORNING. The author of the attack of Nice formally identified

According to our information the identity of the driver of the truck that drove into the crowd Tuesday night would be confirmed. It is indeed the holder of the identity card found in the truck by the police.

This Nice of Tunisian origin aged 31 called Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. His apartment was searched this morning in Nice North district.

The man who works as a delivery driver is known for acts of delinquency, including violence, radicalization but it would go unnoticed. In any case it was not part of the stuck S department.

His act seems yet to have been premeditated. The individual may have hired the truck that was used in the attack on Wednesday in a neighboring town of Nice.

The investigation continues to try to identify possible accomplices. Several relatives of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel are currently heard by the police who also performed Friday morning to other searches in the department.

[jwl]

I almost wonder why we haven't had something like this in America yet. Though there aren't the same numbers of Muslims in America as there are in Europe.

During the Paris attacks it was revealed france had problems with their version of MI5. The people who carried out the attacks, if I remember correctly, were supposed to be under 24 hour surveillance so there is no way they should have been able to plan and carry out an attack. In an ideal world they would have been arrested as soon as they left the house with illegal weaponry.

It is possible their domestic intelligence service has not improved sufficiently since last time.