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Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel

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Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel
محمد لحويج بوهلال
Born(1985-01-03)3 January 1985
M'saken, Sousse Governorate, Tunisia
Died14 July 2016(2016-07-14) (aged 31)
Nice, France
Cause of deathGunshot wound
NationalityTunisian
Known for2016 Nice attack
Details
CountryFrance
Location(s)Promenade des Anglais, Nice
Target(s)Bastille Day crowds
Killed84+
Injured202 (52 critically)
WeaponsCargo truck and a handgun

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel (French pronunciation: [mɔamɛ lauɛʒ bulɛl]; Arabic: محمد لحويج بوهلال Muḥammad Laḥwīj Būhlāl; January 3, 1985 – July 14, 2016) was a Tunisian terrorist who carried out the 2016 Nice attack in which he drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, killing at least 84 people and injuring many more.

Life

Bouhlel was born in M'saken, Tunisia, a small town about 10 kilometres (6 mi) outside the coastal city of Sousse and, according to police reports, he had a French residency permit and lived in Nice,[2] having moved there around 2005, where he worked as a delivery-truck driver.[3]

After the killings, his father (who lives in M'saken, Tunisia) told an international news agency that Bouhlel suffered from depression, drank alcohol and was a drug user:

From 2002 to 2004, he had problems that caused a nervous breakdown. He would become angry and he shouted … he would break anything he saw in front of him.

— Mohamed Mondher Lahouaiej Bouhlel, [4]

His sister, Rabeb Bouhlel, said that his family handed over documents to the police showing that he had been seeing psychologists for several years.[5]

He was married with three children, but in the process of divorce. He was reported to have had financial difficulties and to have worked as a driver, acquiring a truck permit less than a year before the attack.[6] In January 2016, he fell asleep at the wheel of a van, and was subsequently sacked.[7] His parents are divorced.[8]

According to media reports, Bouhlel was known to police for five prior criminal offenses, notably regarding armed violence. On 27 January 2016, he was put on probation for attacking a motorist with a wooden pallet after a traffic accident. He was convicted on March 24, 2016, and given a six-month suspended sentence on charges of violence with a weapon.[9][10][11] Bouhlel was last arrested less than a month before the attack after a traffic accident in which he had been sleeping at the wheel, and he remained subject to judicial supervision. He was, however, not registered as a national security risk (fiche "S") with French authorities.[6]

Days before the attack, he sent £84,000 to his family in Tunisia, according to his brother Jaber Bouhlel.[12] Reports say that Bouhlel often used to visit Tunisia, saying the last time he did so was eight months ago, before he went back to France.[8]

Suspected affiliations

It was reported that the perpetrator shouted "Allahu Akbar!" during the attack,[13][14] and a French prosecutor claimed that the attack "bore the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism."[15] However, a preliminary investigation by French officials has not connected Bouhlel to any international terror groups.[16] Amaq News Agency, an online presence said to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), called Bouhlel "one of the soldiers of Islamic State." It cited a "security source" which said Bouhlel "carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State".[17]

Bouhlel was not known by Tunisian authorities to have been involved in any terrorism activities on Tunisian soil.[8] His name was not in the French database of suspected Islamic militants.[18] According to a cousin of Bouhlel's wife, Bouhlel was not a religious person and did not attend a mosque.[11] Bouhlel's cousin said that he "wasn't a Muslim", and his neighbor said he drank alcohol and never attended mosque.[19] The Guardian noted that his lack of religious piety is typical for the French and Belgian subjects involved in terrorist rampages earlier in 2016, and Mohammed Merah (the perpetrator of the Toulouse and Montauban shootings) also matched this profile.[20]

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls proclaimed that Bouhlel was "probably linked to radical Islam in one way or another", and put the attack in the context of a "war" against terrorism and "extremist" Islam both outside and within France.[21] This allegation was initially cautioned by the French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve who said "We have an individual who was not known to intelligence services for activities linked to radical Islam" and who could not confirm Bouhlel's motives were linked to radical jihadism.[15]

On 15 July, Bouhlel's estranged wife and a man were arrested, followed by three more men the next day. The French prosecutor's office did not immediately disclose who the men are or why anyone was detained.[11][22] The next day, Cazeneuve stated that "It seems that he [Bouhlel] radicalized himself very quickly," as part of findings in early investigations.[23]

2016 attack in Nice and death

Main article: 2016 Nice attack

Bouhlel was shot dead by French police officers attempting to force him to stop his truck.[24] The French prosecutor stated that the attack "bore the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism" but that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack,[15] and a preliminary investigation by French officials has not connected Bouhlel to any international terror groups.[25]

References

  1. ^ Malval, Aurore (15 July 2016). "Ce que l'on sait de l'auteur présumé de l'attentat [mis à jour]". Nice-Matin. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Attentat à Nice : le suspect a été formellement identifié" (in French). Europe1. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  3. ^ Breeden, Aurelien (15 July 2016). "Live: News on the Attack in Nice, France". New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. ^ Beaumont, Peter; Fischer, Sofia (15 July 2016). "Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel: who was the Bastille Day truck attacker?". The Guardian. Bastille Day truck attack. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Nice attacker treated for psychological issues before leaving Tunisia: sister". Reuters. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Attentat de Nice : ce que l'on sait du tueur du 14 juillet". Atlantico (in French). 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. ^ Stephen, Chris (16 July 2016). "Nice attack bewilders Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's relatives". The Guardian. Bastille Day truck attack. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "Nice attack: Dozens killed during Bastille Day celebrations". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  9. ^ Payton, Matt (15 July 2016). "Nice terror attack: Police arrest killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel's wife". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  10. ^ La Rédaction (15 July 2016). "Attentat de Nice: le terroriste présumé, Mohamed Lahouaiej, était connu de la police". Loractu.fr. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ^ a b c Payton, Matt (15 July 2016). "Nice terror attack: Police arrest killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel's wife". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ^ Krit, Mohamed; Fagge, Nick (16 July 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Brother reveals 'violent, drug-crazed' ISIS 'soldier' Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel smuggled £84,000 to his family in Tunisia DAYS before murdering 84 in Nice". Mail Online. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  13. ^ Boyle, Darren; Tonkin, Sam (14 July 2016). "Gun and truck attack leaves at least 80 dead in Nice: Men, women and kids strewn across road after lorry speeds for a MILE through holiday crowd watching fireworks, before gunman opens fire". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 July 2016. Pro-ISIS groups have been celebrating the attack, orchestrated to coincide with France's most important national holiday, but as yet the terror group has not officially claimed responsibility.
  14. ^ Henderson, Barney; Graham, Graham (14 July 2016). "84 killed in Nice by lorry during Bastille Day celebrations - how the attack unfolded". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2016. 2:19am 'Driver was 31-year-old from Nice' The local newspaper, Nice-Matin, reports that the man driving the truck was a 31-year-old Nice resident of Tunisian origin. The truck driver was said to have shouted 'Allahu Akbar' — God is greatest — before being shot dead by police.
  15. ^ a b c "Bastille Day attack in Nice". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Here's What We Know About The Suspect In The Nice Attack". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  17. ^ Williams, Richard A. L. (16 July 2016). "Nice terror attack: Isis claims responsibility for lorry massacre in French coastal city". The Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  18. ^ J. Rubin, Alissa; Nossiter, Adam; Breeden, Aurelien; Blaise, Lilia (15 July 2016). "Death Toll From Terrorist Attack in Nice, France, Rises to 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  19. ^ "Nice terror attacker 'wasn't Muslim, he was a s**t who drank alcohol and avoided mosque,' says his cousin".
  20. ^ Burke, Jason (17 July 2016). "Police and academics search Nice attacker's history for a motive". The Guardian. Bastille Day truck attack. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  21. ^ "France's Valls says Nice attacker linked 'one way or another' to radical Islam". Reuters. 15 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Police make arrests over deadly truck attack in Nice", various wire services, via Deutsche-Welle
  23. ^ "ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attack in Nice, France". The New York Times. 16 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Latest updates on France lorry attack". BBC News. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Here's What We Know About The Suspect In The Nice Attack". BuzzFeed. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
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