
Anti-terror police searched the shabby flat of truck terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel today after he massacred 84 innocents on Bastille Day in Nice.

Photographs of the small, run-down flat reveal the disarray left behind by the father-of-three as he headed out to launch his deadly attack on the French city.

A chest of drawers has been torn apart, the drawers piled up loosely, its contents scattered over the floor of the room.

Clothes lie abandoned on the floor by a cupboard, which hangs ajar, and a chair stands forgotten in the middle of the room.

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Shabby: Photographs of the small, run-down flat reveal the disarray left behind by the father-of-three as he headed out to launch his deadly attack on the French city

Run-down: Police officers raided Bouhlel's run-down flat today, after the father-of-three was shot dead as he launched a savage assault on Bastille Day celebrations

Abandoned: Bouhlel, a delivery driver who separated from his wife two years ago, has a criminal record for domestic violence, theft and possession of weapons

Raid: This is the home of terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who killed 84 people in Nice yesterday by driving a lorry through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day

Left behind: A glove lies on the floor after being discarded by forensic investigation officers and police who launched a raid on the flat where Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel lived in a poor neighbourhood of Nice

Named: Bouhlel, who has three children aged five, three and 18 months, was forced to move out of the family home into this flat after his marriage broke down two years ago - it is believed the divorce proceedings were being carried out over the past few months

The white and beige-painted walls carry no decoration, no sign that the man who lived here had a family.

Police today raided the shabby home, where the ISIS fanatic planned the brutal slaughter of holidaymakers and locals as they celebrated on the Promenade des Anglais.

The 31-year-old French-Tunisian was already known to police when he drove a lorry for more than a mile through crowds of revellers on Bastille Day.

Bouhlel, a delivery driver who separated from his wife two years ago, has a criminal record for domestic violence, theft and possession of weapons.

He was also on probation after he recently fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into four vehicles on a highway, it is claimed.

Hauntingly, Bouhlel told police he was delivering ice cream when they questioned why he was parked on the promenade for nearly nine hours before he launched his attack.

But police let him stay parked on the beachfront and failed to check his vehicle - where he had stashed guns and grenades.

Horror: The Nice terrorist parked on the promenade for nearly nine hours yesterday before launching his horrific attack, but was allowed to stay because he told police he was delivering ice cream

Chaos: The man, who was previously known to police for violence and theft, is reported to have had assault rifles, a pistol and even a grenade with him in the lorry - but they went undiscovered

Violence: Despite allegedly questioning the driver, police officers in the southern French city did nothing to move him on as he waited to begin the attack

Slaughter: Dozens of bodies were left lying on the Promenade des Anglais after the horrific attack last night, which left at least 84 people dead

Several of Bouhlel's relatives and close friends have been taken into police custody for questioning and simultaneous raids are continuing in the Abattoirs area of Nice.

Neighbours of Bouhlel described him as a 'lonely' and 'silent' man, with one saying he never returned their greetings.

As well as past allegations of violent behaviour, Bouhlel was under probation for 15 days after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into four vehicles on a highway, it is claimed in Spanish press.

The attacker was shot dead by a police officer, believed to have been female, after he opened fire into a crowd of fleeing people.

His lorry was later found to contain a pistol, a larger weapon and a cache of other weapons and grenades that were later found to be fake.

The streets were closed at 3pm for the Bastille Day celebrations, with no cars allowed in or out of the area while revellers celebrated.

Tragedy: Heartbroken relatives of those killed in the attack sat by the bodies of their loved ones throughout the night, and it has been claimed that some of the bodies are still lying where they fell today

Emergency: At least 84 people, including 10 children, have been killed in the attack, and many more are still fighting for their lives in hospitals

Banned: The streets were closed at 3pm for the Bastille Day celebrations, with no cars allowed in or out of the area while revellers celebrated

Terror: The 31-year-old killer, a French Tunisian, had already come onto police radar for 'acts of violence and use of weapons' after violence following a pub brawl in January

Battle: Police officers use tables and chairs as protection as they attempt to stop the deadly attack, which saw a 31-year-old French-Tunisian man drive a lorry through a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations

Investigation: Police are using the 1,200 surveillance cameras covering the city to track the killer's route before he began the attack

Attack: The Frenchman used the 25-tonne lorry to go on a mile-long killing spree, ploughing through crowds during Bastille Day celebrations

Fear: President Francois Hollande said that the 'terrorist' nature of the attack 'cannot be denied', in a live speech following the horrific incident

At 10.30pm the driver accelerated along the beachfront road and ploughed through the crowds of people for more than a mile before getting out and opening fire, killing at least 84 people.

One witness said: 'I even had time to see the driver's face. He had a beard and appeared to be having fun.'

Police are using the 1,200 surveillance cameras covering the city to track the killer's route before he began the attack.

Bouhlel is thought to have rented the truck on Wednesday from a specialist garage at Saint Laurent du Var by Nice Airport.

Police have discovered CCTV footage of the moment the man boarded the lorry in the hills around Nice, according to reports.

Documents found in the cab included an ID, a mobile phone and a credit card.

Bouhlel was known to police before the attack for reports of domestic violence, theft and 'acts of violence and use of weapons'.

He had also been arrested following a pub brawl on January 27. Investigating sources said his last appearance in a criminal court was as recently as March, when he was found guilty of violent contact.

Aftermath: Crime scene investigators and emergency service workers on the promenade today, where at least 84 people were slaughtered last night

Bastille: Policemen walk on the site where a truck drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display on the Promenade des Anglais seafront

Losses: Crime scene investigators on the promenade where scores of holidaymakers and residents were mowed down last night in the horrific attack

Operation: Forensics experts evacuate a dead body on the Promenade des Anglais seafront in the French Riviera town of Nice

Mourning: A forensic expert evacuates a dead body on the Promenade des Anglais, where many are arriving today to pay their respects to those who died

Comfort: People hug outside the French Embassy in London, following the horrific attack in Nice, France

However he had never been associated with any acts of terrorism before the Bastille Day slaughter, and he was not under surveillance.

Witnesses described how the lorry 'zigzagged' in order to create maximum chaos in the celebrating crowd.

'We almost died. It was like hallucinating,' a witness told i-Tele.

'The lorry zigzagged – you had no idea where it was going. My wife, a metre away, she was dead.'

The driver was said to have shouted 'Allahu Akbar' – God is great – before being shot dead by police.

So far there have been no claims of responsibility for the deadly attack. Reports that a number of grenades and other weapons in the lorry turned out to be fake have raised questions about how much support he might have received from a jihadist group.

Raid: Police officers stand near the building where Bouhlel reportedly lived, as they carry out raids and question his family and friends for the investigation

Probe: Police have also raided this block of flats in Nice in connection with French-Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a father-of-three and professional delivery driver

Pictures from the scene of the deadly carnage show the lorry still standing whether the driver abandoned it, riddled with bullet holes.

President Francois Hollande said that the 'terrorist' nature of the attack 'cannot be denied', in a live speech following the horrific incident.

The premier pledged to 'hit' ISIS in Syria and Iraq 'even harder' after the devastating attack, saying: 'France is in tears, it is hurting but it is strong and she will be stronger – always stronger than the fanatics who wish to hurt us.'

Spain's acting interior minister said Spanish intelligence points to the attack as being of a jihadist nature.

Reports that a second gunman was involved in the attack prompted fears that there could still be an attacker on the loose.