IS claims Nice massacre as France mulls security failings

Beirut : The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Saturday for an attack in which a Tunisian ploughed a truck into a crowd in Nice, killing 84, prompting hard questions in France over security failures.

In a statement via its Amaq news service, IS said one of its "soldiers" carried out Thursday night's attack "in response to calls to target nations of coalition states that are fighting (IS)".

Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day -- France's national day.

Investigators said he had no known connection to jihadist groups, and no evidence to back the IS claim has been presented.

French President Francois Hollande met his defence and security chiefs and cabinet ministers as political and media criticism mounted over security failings after the third major attack in France in 18 months.

"If we are at war, as the government tells us, then the currency of war is intelligence, learning from experience, analysing failures and victories," wrote Yann Marec in an editorial for the southern region's Midi Libre newspaper.

He was one of several calling for action, and not merely "the same old solemn declarations" from the government, as Le Figaro daily said.

Some 30,000 people had thronged the palm tree-lined Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night to watch a fireworks display with their friends and families, but the night turned to horror as the truck left mangled bodies strewn in its wake.

In Nice, the seaside streets that would normally be bustling on a summer weekend were near-deserted, with teary residents making their way to the promenade to lay down flowers in memory of the dead.

At least 10 children and teenagers were among the dead as well as tourists from the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland and Germany.

A spokeswoman for the Nice hospital said 16 bodies had not yet been identified. She said five children were still in a "critical condition", and an eight-year-old in a stable condition had not been identified.