Suspects in Bastille Day attack trial deny terrorist ties

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The defendants on trial for the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack in southern France that killed 86 people are denying any links to terrorism. They told a court in Paris on Tuesday that they had been trapped or fooled by the driver at fault for the massacre. The driver was killed by police after the attack on the storied beachfront in the Mediterranean city of Nice. The eight people who went on trial this week are accused of helping him, though investigators didn’t find evidence they were directly involved in the carnage. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, but investigators found no evidence that IS orchestrated the attack.