Welcome to mjventertainment.blogspot.com: 15-07-2016 to 07:47 84 dead in truck attack in Nice by RFI French police forces and forensic officers stand next to a truck that ran into a crowd in Nice killing at least 80 people. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard A 19-tonne truck ploughed into a crowd of revellers watching Bastille Day fireworks display in the French resort of Nice killing 84 people while 18 were seriously injured. Christian Estrosi, head of the local region, said the driver had fired a pistol several times before being shot dead by police. This was after he drove the truck two kilometres through the crowd on the Promenade des Anglais before he was shot dead. Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the truck, as well as "guns" and "larger weapons". President François Hollande termed the attack of an "undeniable terrorist nature," confirming that "several children" were among the dead. “France was struck on its national day ... the symbol of freedom,” Hollande said. A photograph showed the front of the truck riddled with bullet holes and badly damaged, with burst tyres. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters on the scene that the death toll stood at 80, with scores injured including 18 in "critical condition". The attack is the third major strike against France in less than 18 months and prosecutors said anti-terrorist investigators would handle the probe. It comes eight months after Islamic State attacks on Paris nightspots left 130 people dead, dealing a hard blow to tourism in one of the world's top destinations. Hollande announced he would extend France's state of emergency for three months in the wake of this latest attack and “step up” the government's action against jihadists in Syria and Iraq. He also called up army reservists to bolster the country's security services that are stretched to the limit. France has been under a state of emergency ever since the November 13 Paris carnage, which came after 17 were killed in another attack in January at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket. The Islamic State group has repeatedly singled out France as a prime target for its military actions against the group in Iraq and Syria, and hundreds of jihadists have left France to go and fight in its ranks.