People Close to Nice Attacker Say He Began to Mention Daesh Ahead of Attack

The terrorist behind the deadly attack in the French city of Nice started talking about Daesh jihadist group in days preceding the attack, media reported on Saturday.

PARIS (Sputnik) — On Thursday night, a truck rammed into a large crowd that was celebrating Bastille Day in Nice. At least 84 people, including children, were killed and dozens of others were injured. The investigation found that the person behind the attack was 31-year-old resident of Nice of Tunisian origins Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel.

According to French news channel iTele citing sources close to the investigation of the Nice terrorist attack, four detainees who were close to Bouhlel said that his behavior had changed dramatically prior to the attack — he became unusually aggressive and started referring to Daesh in conversations.

The media added that the detainees noticed that Bouhlel stopped drinking alcohol.

Earlier on Saturday, the French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that Bouhlels' radicalization occurred very quickly. On Friday, Cazeneuve said that he was unable to confirm if Bouhlel had links to radical Islam.

Earlier in the day,  media reported that the IS militant group, outlawed in many countries around the globe, including Russia and the United States, claimed responsibility for a deadly terrorist attack in Nice.