Nice Attacker Radicalized ‘Very Rapidly’

A top French official has said the attacker who killed 84 people in Nice was “very rapidly” radicalized, as the Islamic State identified the suspect as a “soldier” of the group on Saturday. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told journalists that the investigation has revealed a frighteningly quick radicalization process, and a major influence by the Islamic State. The attacker in Nice, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, represents a new threat, according to Cazeneuve: “individuals who are responding positively to the messages issued by the Islamic State without having had any special training and without having access to weapons that allow them to commit mass murder.” Earlier, the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency said Bouhlel had been a member of the group who “executed the operation in response to calls to target citizens of coalition nations that fight the Islamic State.”