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French Officials Say 80 Killed in Terror Attack; Hollande: France under Threat from Islamic Terrorism. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 15, 2016 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[01:00:09] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Just gone 10:00 here in Los Angeles. It is 7:00 a.m. in Nice. We'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Vause.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: And I am Isha Sesay. Our breaking news this hour.

People in Nice, France celebrating Bastille Day on the beach ran for their lives when the driver of a large white truck opened fire on them and then plowed into the crowd.

VAUSE: French officials put the death toll at 80 bodies were left lying in the street covered with white sheets.

Amateur video of the attack is graphic and disturbing.

Authorities say light arms, grenades and explosives were inside the truck. Police also found the identity card of a 31-year-old French Tunisian man. They're now trying to figure out if that belongs to the driver.

SESAY: Well, French President Francois Hollande has extended the country's state of emergency by three months in the wake of the terror attack. He flew back to Paris early on Friday to deal with the situation.

VAUSE: Mr. Hollande says France will remain strong despite those who want to launch these kinds of attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (Through Translator): This is an act of which terrorists -- a terrorist attack cannot be ignored and this is of absolute horror. And it is clear that we have to do everything to ensure that we can fight against the scourge of terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Our Becky Anderson joins us now from Paris with the latest.

And, Becky, we're being told anti-terror prosecutors have taken over the investigation into what happened in Nice. What more can you tell us?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this was certainly an attack that caused absolute terror. 80 dead, including children, and 18, we are told, critically wounded in this awful attack.

This was carnage on the Promenade des Anglais which is the main thoroughfare along the beach in Nice in the south of France. Thousands had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day and watch the fireworks display. This was 10:00 at night. It is now 7:00 in the morning, and France are waking up to front pages in the newspapers today which simply are headlining horror, carnage in Nice, and a deadly 14th of July in this southern beach resort.

We do know that this white truck was driven along the Promenade des Anglais relatively slow for as long as two kilometers. This was an area, a road which we are told had been cordoned off. So it is unclear at this point how the truck actually made it on to that road. Once it did, the driver drove it along. Spraying bullets out of the windows and mowing people down in his way. That identity card you rightly point out is of a 31-year-old Tunisian man, a resident of Nice.

But as you have said that at the moment, authorities are trying to identify whether that card belongs to the driver whose body was pulled out of the cab of this truck after authorities shot and killed him. And the president saying earlier on this morning in an address to the nation at some 3:30 in the morning that had authorities not intervened as quickly as they did, this being the police and security down there in Nice, things could have been a whole lot worse. It seems unimaginable that things could have been any worse but I guess he is making a very good point.

SESAY: Our Becky Anderson joining us there from Paris with the very latest. Becky, appreciate the update.

VAUSE: Tony Molina joins us now on the line from Nice. He was there with his wife and his son when all of this happened.

Tony, it's been many hours now. How are you coping and I guess how is your son dealing with all this? He is only 14 years old and saw it all.

TONY MOLINA, EYEWITNESS: Yes, you know, it's hard to say at this point. I think he's OK for the moment but we will have to do a lot of processing as a family with this. But, yes, it won't be an easy one.

SESAY: Tony, where were you when this was unfolding? Walk us through the moment when you realized something terrible was happening.

MOLINA: Sure. Just to give you an idea where we're located. The Negresco Hotel, which somewhat central to where this incident occurred.

[01:05:01] We're just to the west of that. And we had watched the fireworks from the balcony of the apartment that we're renting for the week. The fireworks started at about 10:00 p.m. here locally. We were even in awe looking across the way as the fireworks were going just how many people, you know, were crowded out there in the beach and the Promenade des Anglais.

And then this promenade, you know, this is a very wide boardwalk, a large sidewalk area where you would normally feel comfortable walking, and they even had a lot of the street blocked off to traffic. So as soon as the fireworks were over, we kind of stood out for a little bit watching the crowds just, you know, come into the streets as they're leaving the beaches. And we stepped inside, closed the balcony door, and within about two, three minutes, we're hearing like thumping outside.

And crowds start to just -- like a roar. So initially I thought maybe they are doing more fireworks. So I opened the door, my son and I walked out, and my wife joined us. And as we walk out, this is when we see this panel truck coming into our field of vision and just, you know, plowing through the crowd in front of it.

And I estimate it had probably gone about a half mile -- a half mile in at that point from wherever it began because it took us, you know, a couple of seconds to realize, to hear the noise, go outside, and then just see this truck plummeting through people in front of us. So it went through, you know, unfortunately we did see people getting hit and people scattering.

It was a little odd because at the time just before all this, we were walking down the street a couple hours before and there were, you know, law enforcement and military everywhere. And when this happened, it was a little odd to look down. It felt really odd to look and see, you know, really not much of a presence in that specific area where we were. So it just felt very helpless to be looking down and seeing this unfold and not being able to do one thing about it.

So anyway, the panel truck continued on. We lost sight of it as it went down probably another half a mile or so. And we heard a few seconds later just the barrage of gunfire.

VAUSE: So, Tony, you say that you clocked the security presence before all of this happened. So there was, what, a lot of military there, a lot of police who were on the streets? Were they armed? Did you notice anything about that part of the security?

MOLINA: Yes. In fact, we had dinner kind of near the casino area, which is where I think it ended, somewhere in that area. And when we were in that area, you know, there's bands, there were bands set up, spread out throughout the boardwalk.

So military and police were just walking, doing foot patrols, a lot of police like cordoning off areas, streets. There was a huge police presence. I'm assuming police, law enforcement-type presence out in this area. That whole time frame that we were walking around.

SESAY: And, Tony, from your vantage point, as this truck made its way down the Promenade, what could you see of the driver, if anything, specific? Could you see him firing out of the truck? We have heard some reports of that. What did you see?

MOLINA: I could not see the driver at all. And in the area that he passed in front of where we're staying at, I did not hear any -- he did not appear to be firing a weapon at that time. Based on what I've heard and my understanding, he was doing that before entering there where we were at.

VAUSE: And Tony, was there a moment you realized that this wasn't maybe a drunk driver who lost control of a vehicle, that this was an attack and this person was aiming to run down as many people as possible?

MOLINA: Yes, that -- that happened very quickly because my initial thought was, when we walk out and I look across the street and I see this truck just hitting people, my first thought was -- must be a drunk driver. But that faded quickly as I saw him zigzagging through the crowd at about 25, 30 miles an hour and just -- you know, it appeared very purposeful at that time.

I think that the idea of it being a drunk driver just quickly went away. And at that point it was unbelievable. Hard to actually, you know, manage those thoughts that this guy is purposefully taking people out.

VAUSE: And the people who were hit by the truck, were they elderly people? Were they children? What did you see?

MOLINA: I could not tell at all at the time. I mean, they appeared to be -- the people that I saw get hit appeared to be adults just based on the body size. I can tell you right now, I mean, even across the street from where we're at right now daylight just broke about an hour ago. And they haven't even gotten to our area as far as processing of the scene. So there's still a number -- I counted at least 14 covered bodies and they appear -- I mean, again, it's hard to say but they appear adult sized from where we're at.

VAUSE: Yes.

SESAY: And Tony, just to pick up on that point. Just so that we're clear that the bodies as far as you can tell are still lying out there on the promenade? You can see them from your vantage point. What else are you seeing in terms of first responders, in terms of security out there? Set the scene for us.

MOLINA: Sure. A couple of hours after -- I would say maybe an hour after the incident itself, it was flooded with law enforcement obviously and then first responders in general. And it looks like they turned the area that's just east of our location, a building east of us, into a makeshift hospital or triage center just by the way they were kind of setting it up. That seemed to have been taken down maybe a couple of hours ago. Seemed like we saw a lot of possibly investigators arriving because, you know, a lot of men in suits that were showing up and appeared to be giving direction.

It was at that point they started cordoning off a lot of the scene itself. And my -- my take on it would be that they've started at one end and they are working their way this way because --

VAUSE: Yes.

MOLINA: At least as of an hour ago nobody was out in front of where we're at.

SESAY: Well, Tony, we are -- we're thankful that you are safe and we appreciate you just sharing what you saw. We wish you the very best. I know this is a tough time for you and the family. But thank you so much for speaking to us here at CNN.

MOLINA: Thank you.

SESAY: Be safe.

VAUSE: Thank you, Tony.

Well, U.S. president Barack Obama is calling this a horrific terrorist attack.

SESAY: Yes. In a statement he said, "On this Bastille Day we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that make France an inspiration to the entire world. We know that the character of the French republic will endure long after this devastating and tragic loss of life."

VAUSE: Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump postponed the official announcement of his vice presidential pick which -- because of the attack in Nice. He is expected to name Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. Trump had this to say about Thursday's violence when he was speaking to FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Would you go to Congress and ask for a declaration of war?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would. I would. This is war. If you look at it, this is war. Coming from all different parts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Democratic rival Hillary Clinton responded to Trump's comments earlier on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's clear we are at war with these terrorist groups and what they represent. It's a different kind of war. And we need to be smart about how we wage it and win it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Let's bring in CNN intelligence and security analyst, former CIA operative, Bob Baer. He is Telluride, Colorado.

Bob, is there anything unique to the south of France which makes it particularly susceptible to Islamic extremism?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I -- John, I think Paris is better protected. They're looking for it more, they've got people under surveillance. It's in southern France. There's a lot of big population. You know, North African descendants in that area and I think the fact that it occurred in Nice was particularly is shocking and the Promenade des Anglais, you know, on the 14th, which is France's fourth of July, it's very shocking to the French.

I mean, you know, just the number of people and the fact -- a truck, something simple was used. And, you know, I wonder if he was actually firing out of the truck. You know, could have been the police firing at him. And the police carry automatic weapons, military style weapons. But the point is a truck like that of that size you can knock down most barricades. You know, you need HESCO barriers, the big cement, you know, and rock-filled things.

And you can't do that in the city in France and everybody is vulnerable in France and there is no easy solution and I think the French president Hollande more or less said that. You know, we're going to have martial law effectively for the next three months. And is that going to be enough? And they really do have a problem with disaffected people in France. Much more than the United States.

[01:15:01] You see it in Britain. Lesser so in Germany but the Europeans don't really know where to turn next. I mean, the French police are very good, by the way. I've worked with them. They are very efficient. They're smart people. They are not lax. But again, you know, this kind of attack is so hard to stop.

SESAY: Bob, with this attack, with this carnage people are asking the question whether we are seeing the evolution of terror tactics. What is your thought on that?

BAER: I think they are very agile. I think that they don't need to have multiple attackers like in Paris or necessarily make bombs as they did in the Brussels airport. And you know, they have -- the Islamic State -- now we don't know if it's the Islamic State. So far there has been no claim. But they use trucks very effectively in Iraq. In some cases they just -- they back them into a target and blow them up, or in this case it's the same effect. It's mass casualties. And that's what they want.

And I think at the end of the day we have to look at the Middle East and I've said this over and over again. This is backlash. It's the politics of despair and they're getting a lot of people to identify. With so many people dying in the Middle East and, you know, this -- this is sectarian war. And we effectively in Iraq are supporting Iran. And we're not looking at this completely, with clarity on this. And I think we really have to. Yes, we can bomb Raqqa into rubble. But I think that's going to cause probably more problems in Europe.

VAUSE: Bob, immediately after the attack, the French president said he would boost Operation Sentinel," reservists would be drafted and so along with the emergency powers, martial law as you call it, does that now effectively mean the military will be on the streets of every city, every town across France?

BAER: Well, you have the Gendarmory. It's a strange system for Anglo-Saxon law but it's effectively the military. And they're going to have to beef up their counter intelligence and DTSE is -- you know, it's merged with the RG. And they're going -- they're going to have to, you know, do aggressive policing. They've already been knocking down doors and they've been profiling. And they're going to do more of it. But the French at the same time know that this is going to alienate more people.

But they are really stuck. They are stuck in this. And I'm very sympathetic to the French president. But, you know, what can he do at this point except to say, I'm going to get more aggressive?

SESAY: Bob, we appreciate the insight and the analysis on this very -- this very dark evening. A moment of great sadness in France.

Bob, appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break here. When we come back you will hear from another witness of the horrific attack in Nice. More in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Coming up to 10:22 here on the west coast. You're watching breaking news coverage of the latest terror attack in France. Officials say at least 80 people are dead in Nice after a man plowed down Bastille Day revelers with a truck.

SESAY: There are reports he fired into the crowd before running people over. Police found explosives and firearms after shooting and killing the driver.

VAUSE: Another video from social media shows the horror just a few minutes after the attack.

SESAY: And it's graphic but it has been edited so that we can show it to you.

(VIDEO)

SESAY: Well, a short time ago, American Paul DeLane joined us. He witnessed the attack in Nice and gave an emotional account of what occurred and what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL DELANE, EYEWITNESS: I was on the Promenade des Anglais and we had just finished watching the fireworks show and we were heading back to where I live. Not on the Promenade des Anglais but in the direction of where the truck was. We decided to stop for a minute or so, just to listen to the music

because there was the festivities going on. And then suddenly there was screaming and people running literally for their lives. And I was shocked for a moment. I didn't know whether I should hide or if I should run with everybody. Thank God my partner was with me. Excuse me.

VAUSE: Paul -- are you OK? Paul?

DELANE: Yes. My partner was with me and thank God he grabbed my hand and he pulled me along and we just ran. And I just thank God that we're safe and I feel just horrible for all the lives lost and -- just to say that as well, we were about probably about 200 meters from where the truck had stopped.

We couldn't see too much because obviously everybody was running in the opposite direction and it was just more a case of not even looking back. You just had to run and you didn't -- people didn't even really know what they were running from yet. Most people didn't know what they were even running from. They just knew that something terrible had happened and we had to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. Excuse my language.

VAUSE: So, Paul, it's been many hours now, about eight hours now since all this happened. Clearly you're simply upset. How are you coping? How are you coping?

DELANE: I'm not coping very well because -- well, I mean, I haven't slept a wink since I got back to the -- to my place.

[01:25:02] I'm trying to contact my friends back in the states and my family to let them know that I'm fine.

SESAY: Paul, we are all grieving with you. And this is such a terrible moment for so many people. As you were running in that moment with your partner, what was going through your mind? What were you processing as you dashed away with the crowds?

DELANE: To tell you, I was processing the fact, really realizing how short life is and to value every moment that you have living, and to live and love for now. That's what I was thinking of is that everything could have finished for me right then and there. And it wasn't my time. And I feel very lucky. And I thank God for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Paul DeLane there who witnessed the carnage there in Nice on Bastille Day. He spoke to us just a short time ago.

VAUSE: It is 7:26 in the morning Nice. And let's go there live now because there are some images now of the truck which is actually involved in this attack. You can see it there. And one thing to note about this truck is that you can see there in the distance the bullet holes in the windshield which there was about two dozen or so of those bullet holes which presumably were fired by police at the driver trying to stop this vehicle. It continued on for more than a mile as it plowed through a crowd of thousands of people that were watching the Bastille Day fireworks display.

SESAY: Yes. The sequencing of events is still to be worked out. We're hearing that he fired out of the truck and then got back in. It's still unclear how it occurred moment by moment, but what they do know is that an individual got behind the wheel of that truck and brought chaos and despair to crowds who were enjoying a day on the promenade.

VAUSE: We should also note that inside that truck authorities say they found light weapons as well as grenades, explosives. Obviously that is now a key part of this investigation to try and find out if he was acting alone, who else may have been involved, whether he was a lone wolf or whether this is some kind of --

SESAY: And an identity card that was found.

VAUSE: Some terrorist assault. Yes. That identified card which identified him as a 31-year-old Nice resident, a dual national from France and Tunisia.

We'll take a short break. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:55] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage. I'm John Vause.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Isha Sesay.

We want to bring you up to speed with the breaking news out of France. French media saying 84 people were killed when the driver of a large truck plowed through a crowd celebrating the French national holiday, Bastille Day, in Nice. The number dead has now risen to 84.

VAUSE: Police shot and killed the truck's driver. This is the live scene right there now in Nice where it is 7:31 in the morning on a Friday. Police are trying to work out if an identity card which was found in the cab of the truck belonged to the driver. It identifies a 31-year-old French-Tunisian man. And there's a report that possibly there was an inactive grenade and several fake rifles inside that truck. We had been told by authorities a few hours ago they had found those rifles and explosives in the truck. Now the press reporting they may have been, in fact, fake.

SESAY: Information that we are trying to verify ourselves here at CNN.

But we want to show you this video that CNN has obtained, amateur video purporting to show gunfire during the terror attack and the images are chilling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING) (GUNSHOTS)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Our Becky Anderson joins us now from Paris.

Becky, as we look at these heart-stopping images, truly terrifying. This is the third attack in France in 18 months. This latest on Bastille Day, a day where France was celebrating everything they hold dear.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's absolutely right. This is the front page of the first newspaper that we could get our hands on this morning. And on front cover shouldn't have been like this. One would have expected on the 15th of July for that front cover to have an image of Francois Hollande at the parade here on the Champs-Elysees. It was a day celebration on the national day, a day that turned into an evening of absolute carnage. And those videos our viewers are seeing witness to this.

We know, in 90 minutes from now, the French president, Francois Hollande, who is now back in Paris, he will be holding or leading a security and defense council meeting. After that, he will accompany the prime minister to Nice where they will go to show support for those who have lost family members and those who are injured.

Let's remember, in that death toll of at least 80 people, possibly as high as 84, there are children involved. And we know there as many as 18 people in the intensive care units at the hospitals there. And those hospitals have been appealing for blood donations throughout the evening. We've just seen another appeal go out by those hospitals in Nice.

This is a beach resort town. Our viewers may be well aware of this. They may have visited this town, a beach resort town in the south of France. This carnage occurring on a road called Promenade des Anglais, when this white truck simply mowed people down in front of it and the driver spraying those around with bullets ahead of this moment of carnage. This moment of carnage lasting as long as two kilometers.

The investigation is being led by the anti-terror unit here. And one of the first things they will be trying to establish is why that truck was on that part of the Promenade des Anglais. It was supposed to be, we are told by authorities, cordoned off in order to allow those celebrating Bastille Day and watching the fireworks to get on with it and enjoy their night. That is certainly not what happened -- Isha?

[01:35:23] VAUSE: OK, Becky, thank you.

At 3:30 in the morning local time, President Francois Hollande addressed the nation saying France is under threat from Islamist terrorism and the attack in Nice is a terrorist incident that cannot be ignored.

SESAY: He said he plans to ask to extend the state of emergency in France for three months. It had been set to expire later this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): Nothing will give in to our will to fight against terrorism and again we are going to strength and reinforce our actions in Syria and Iraq and to continue to confront those who are attacking us on our very soil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Let's bring in CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, joining us via Skype.

Colonel Francona, the French president talking about upping the ante, going against ISIS in France and Syria. What are the French military options now?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They are going to be part of the coalition. They've been part of the coalition all along. They moved a carrier in and out. Ironically, the president announced this evening that he was redeploying the French aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to participate again in the air strikes.

But, John, there is something ironic about this. As we have more military success against ISIS -- and we're assuming it's ISIS -- in Syria and Iraq, it is causing them to launch just these kinds of attacks. So we may see this continuing cycle of success on the ground in Iraq and Syria leading to more of these attacks in Europe, and possibly in the United States, where they are striking out and trying to do something to replace the successes they've had on the ground in Syria. So we may see more of this.

SESAY: Colonel Francona, setting up air strikes is one thing but is this a battle that can really be won from the skies?

FRANCONA: I doubt it. At some point, someone has to take the land back in Iraq and Syria. What that does is deny them a geographic base. The Islamic state then becomes stateless. They have to then reorganize themselves into some kind of organization. They either look for another failed state, and Yemen and Libya come to mind, or they morph into more of an al Qaeda operation where they have places around the world where they can operate. And, again, also conducting these kinds of attacks. I think the French are particularly vulnerable because they have this large North African population that doesn't assimilate well.

VAUSE: Colonel Francona, you talked about air strikes not being enough and someone has to go in on the ground to confront ISIS and retake the territory. The Republican presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, said a short time ago he would go to Congress and ask for a declaration of war. Technically or legally, that's not needed for the U.S. to go in. But could that be some kind of action before sending in U.S. ground troops?

FRANCONA: Well, if you declare war that gives the president to exercise any of those options but the president, as you said, already has those options. We don't really declare war any more. We get authorizations for the Use of Military Force, which is in essence the same thing. The next president will have to determine, are we going to introduce U.S. ground forces into the area. I don't see that happening. I think it will be looking at a local ground force, the Kurds, the Iraqis, better trained Syrians, the Turks. But it would be a major, major change in both policies to put U.S. forces back on the ground.

SESAY: And, Colonel Francona, what of Arab nations in the coalition? One would anticipate that Francois Hollande would be looking to ratchet up their involvement and to mobilize further.

FRANCONA: Yeah, this has always been the issue. We would like to see more Arab ground forces and more Arab cooperation in this fight. Most of the Arab countries by overwhelming majorities are Muslim countries. This has to be a Muslim solution to a Muslim problem. Right no, this has the appearance of outsiders trying to fix a problem. And General Sisi of Egypt has addressed this and the king of Jordan has addressed this. There has to be a local solution to this. But when you talk to the militaries in these countries, their answers are the same, we'll send our forces when you send your forces. If you are not willing to put your troops on the ground, why should we?

VAUSE: Colonel Francona, good to speak with you. Thank you, sir.

[01:40:05] A short break. When we come back, no claim of responsibility for the attack in Nice yet. But an ISIS leader has called for similar attacks in the past. More on that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. The France news agency, AFP, is quoting French authorities who say 84 people are dead after a truck plowed through a crowd of people in Nice, France.

VAUSE: That increases the death toll, which stood at 80. The French President Francois Hollande calls it a terrorist attack. The driver of the truck was shot and killed by police. So far, no claim of responsibility.

SESAY: Meanwhile, witnesses tell us they were horrified and shocked by what they saw as the attack unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS (voice-over): My wife and I were having dinner at a restaurant on the beach watching the fireworks. The beach is about three meters below the Promenade des Anglais up to Westminster Hotel. At about 10:30 or so, as we were paying the bill, my wife heard -- we heard the sounds, pop, pop, pop, pop. I don't know how many. But my wife despite the fact she is deaf recognized the sound as gunfire. And we saw people jumping from the Promenade des Anglais to this corrugated metal roof above the restaurant and people were making shelter where the restaurant is. UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS (voice-over): I was having my dinner on the

other side of the street opposite the sea. And we were watching the fireworks because it's a national day of fun. I was this close to be on the other side of the street taking pictures of the fireworks but thank god I wasn't there. But we were just eating and a huge crowd ran into us. They were like screaming and crying. We had no clue what's going on. And so I thought it was -- and I asked people and they were crying and they said there was a big white truck that ran over a lot of people. Then I went to that area. I was walking amongst bodies, dead bodies and wounded people, and families of those people just gathering around the bodies.

[01:45:43] UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS (voice-over): Basically, the fireworks show and we were outside watching. As soon as it was over the crowds flooded the streets. The area completely packed with people in front of us. We walked in and about five minutes later we hear yelling. My son and I come out on the balcony and we're hearing sounds. Just give you an idea, we are west of the Negresco, like about 50 yards. And so when we look out across, we see this white panel truck just plowing through people. Even now, I'm looking in front of our area and I see about 10 covered bodies, unfortunately, just in the area in front of us. And then it was just crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A lot of speculation that ISIS or another terror group was behind the attack after a senior ISIS leader called on followers to use vehicles as weapons against the West.

SESAY: Back in 2014, the group's spokesperson said this, "If you are not able to find an IED or bullet, single out the disbelieving and smash his head with a rock or slaughter him with a knife or run him over with your car or throw him down from a high place or choke him or poison him."

VAUSE: And in Nice, another video posted to social media that shows the truck just moments before it plowed into the crowd. Viewers will probably find this disturbing.

SESAY: You can see the white truck driving down the Promenade des Anglais, the main street in Nice. People had crowded the beachfront area to watch a fireworks show in celebration of Bastille Day, a national holiday.

VAUSE: CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore, is with us with more on this. So is Aaron Cohen. He was with the Israeli Special Forces Counterterrorism Unit.

Let's just start with the truck used to attack. There was a time, Aaron, where you had to be worried about a truck bomb and now you have to be worried about a truck. We talked about stopping a truck moving at speed. You are not going the stop it with barricades or with policemen with light weapons.

AARON COHEN, FORMER ISRAELI SPECIAL FORCES COUNTERTERRORISM UNIT: You are going to fire at the individual who is driving it. You want to put as many rounds with -- you want to be able to calibrate accordingly or be able to escalate based on the escalated nature of the effect. The barricades work but you have to have a lot and they have to be staggered. That's how they are set up in Israel. But in this case, the training has to reflect the terrorism, which means the police officers need to be trained to be able to fire the weapons into the thoracic cavity of the driver, which is difficult.

VAUSE: The windshield was hit about a dozen times, or two dozen times, and he kept going.

COHEN: It's interesting -- I keep looking at that picture because I'm seeing about two dozen bullet holes.

VAUSE: Yeah.

COHEN: I can't tell what the caliber is. I can't tell whether the rounds went into the window from outside the vehicle or whether the terrorist was firing from the vehicle out at the crowd. But there's no specific bullet holes in front of the driver. I understand that the wheel would still be on the left side in France, if I'm not mistaken, like in Israel or like in America, as opposed to Australia. I don't see bullet holes in the driver's side of the car, which leads me to believe that the shots were coming from outside of the vehicle. That's quicker than trying to get out of the car and then opening fire. We use them in Special Operations tactics and in SWAT teams. The Hostage Rescue Team in Israel, we are trained to fire out the windshields. It's faster. Those are specific tactics we train in Israel. Our average security guard is trained to fire into windows. And we protect that training through our Ministry of Security for the average patrol security officer because of the amount of attacks we've seen with vehicles. The training is very specific.

SESAY: Steve, I want to pick up on something AFP is reporting. CNN has not confirmed. We are hearing that the driver had fake rifles and fake grenades in that truck. Again, AFP is reporting this and CNN has not independently confirmed it. Hearing that, initially, your thoughts?

[01:50:03] STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: I can understand fake explosives like grenades and IEDs. That might cause panic and channel people. If you have an explosive or a fake explosive sitting on a corner you are going to deny that corner to law enforcement and you are going to channel the victims in a different direction. Frankly, I'm baffled at this moment by the fake rifles. Again, they may have wanted to bring other people in this.

But going to John's point earlier, it is not difficult to stop a semi truck before it gets speed. All you have to do is park another vehicle across the road a similar size vehicle. The other thing is the FBI and Aaron's familiar with this, too. I don't want to say too much about it. But there are weapons that I as a sniper was familiar with and trained on that can go through engine blocks and stop the vehicles.

VAUSE: Interrupting here, you have to know this was going to happen.

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VAUSE: Clearly, they weren't.

MOORE: That's the point. That's what Aaron said. They should have anticipated at least the possibility of this. And that is the failure here. France is very competent. France is good. And I'm not jumping on them. I'm just saying that we're all going to learn a little bit from this.

SESAY: Aaron --

VAUSE: Aaron and Steve, thank you very much.

SESAY: Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen.

Time for a break now. French media react with horror to the Nice attack. Ahead, we'll look at the morning papers from Paris and London. Do stay with us.

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[01:55:41] UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS (through translation): The horrible thing is they were taking the white table cloth and covering the dead bodies before the first responders arrived.

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SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. AFP news agency says 84 people are dead in the terror attack in Nice. Let's look at how the papers in Paris and London are covering the attack. First, "Nice-Matin" with the headline, "Carnage in Nice." The front-page photo shows the street filled with dead bodies covered in white sheets.

VAUSE: Another newspaper shows, "The horror in Nice." The front page shows the white truck riddled with bullets.

"The Daily Mirror" has the same picture with the headline "75 Killed by Terrorists."

SESAY: Before we go this hour, we want to show you this picture from Dallas, Texas. The city was rocked by a terror attack last week when a gunman shot and killed five police officers.

VAUSE: The city's buildings were lit up in blue as a tribute. Now they added the colors of the French flag as a show of solidarity.

SESAY: You are watching CNN's breaking news coverage. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause.

Much more about the attacks in Nice right after this.

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