Manuel Valls
Manuel VallsReuters

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday that the terrorist who carried out the attack in Nice that killed at least 84 people in all likelihood had ties to radical Islamist circles.

"He is a terrorist probably linked to radical Islam one way or another," Valls was quoted by Reuters as having told France 2 television.

"Yes, it is a terrorist act and we shall see what the links there are with terrorist organizations," he added.

Valls said he was "convinced" that France would win the war against terrorism and radical Islam.

Valls said he was "convinced" that France would win the war against terrorism and radical Islam but warned that the fight would be protracted.

"As head of government, I owe the French people the truth. It will be long war outside and also inside our territory," Valls said.

He denied there were security failures and that the attack could have been prevented.

"We have given security forces all the means and resources they need," Valls said, according to Reuters, adding that 15 attempted attacks have been prevented in the last three years.

"The same security setup last night was put in place by the state and local authorities during the Nice carnival in January and the Euro 2016 football tournament," he added.

Reports so far indicate that the Nice terrorist raised a local police officer's suspicions several hours before he began his killing spree.

When the officer approached him, the terrorist asked for permission to park his truck near the boulevard because he claimed that he was going to hand out ice cream in honor of Bastille Day.

The terrorist has been identified as a 31-year-old local resident, originally from Tunisia.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)