Three relatives of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel are Islamic extremists who were jailed in Tunisia.

They are understood to be brothers and cousins of Bouhlel’s wife. Police sources said two of them were arrested in 2008 for training with weapons in the mountains.

One said: ‘After release, one, who we think is extremely dangerous, went to Syria, and we are checking if one was in Nice, but he definitely flew to Europe from Tunisia. The third man usually lives here but we haven’t traced him.’

Pictured, Jaber Bouhlel, the brother of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the terrorist who committed the Bastille Day Massarce

Father-of-three Bouhlel, 31, had been in trouble with police and lost his job as a lorry driver after falling asleep at the wheel.

His wife was divorcing him after claiming he beat her. Last night, speaking at the family home in Msaken, Tunisia, Bouhlel’s brother Jaber said: ‘I was with my parents when we were told Mohamed was driving the lorry.

‘We thought it must be an accident. Then we heard he was dead and police shot him. We couldn’t believe it.