11 arrested in France over Nice massacre
NICE (FRANCE) (AFP) -
French police on Monday arrested 11 people suspected of helping to arm the Islamist radical who crushed 86 people to death with a truck in Nice, sources close to the investigation said.
Ten suspects, including one or more Albanians, were arrested in various parts of Nice and another was detained in the western city of Nantes, the sources said.
The arrests come five months after Tunisian extremist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd on the Nice seafront, further traumatising a country reeling from a series of jihadist attacks.
The victims from 19 different countries were watching a fireworks display on the Bastille Day public holiday. Over 400 people were injured.
The 11 people arrested Monday are believed to have been in contact with three people, including two Albanians, arrested in July and charged with supplying Bouhlel with an assault rifle and a pistol.
Bouhlel used the pistol in a firefight with police who shot him dead at the scene, ending his bloody rampage.
"They (the 11) did not necessarily know about the attack but they are part of a criminal milieu involved in arms smuggling," a source said, adding that the person arrested in Nantes had previously lived in Nice.
http://www.france24.com/en/20161212-11-arrested-france-over-nice-massacre