The two shooters from the attacks in Sydney, Australia, travelled to a known Islamist militant hot spot in November, Australian police announced on Tuesday. According to immigration authorities in the Philippines, Sjid Akram and Naveed Akram travelled to Manila before going to Mindanao, a southern Philippines island, in November. “The reasons why they went to the Philippines, and the purpose of that, and where they went when they were there, is under investigation at the moment,” said New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon to reporters in Sydney. .The Australian Broadcast Corporation has reported that the two men underwent “militant training” while in Mindanao. Mindanao was previously the home of Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group associated with Al-Qaeda. After years of conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Abu Sayyaf, the AFP claimed in 2024 that the group has been “dismantled.” Extremist Experts, however, have questioned and warned that it has not been dismantled. “Mindanao has several hundred radical extremist preachers, schools and mosques who continue to preach the Salafist-Wahhabi ideology that provides the foundation for extremism and terrorism,” said Rohan Gunaratna, a professor of security studies in Singapore, to the Globe and Mail. .The Akrams carried out the attack against a group of individuals at Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing at least 15 victims and leaving at least 38 others injured and sent to the hospital, as the group celebrated the first day of Hanukkah. A civilian disarmed the shooters before Sjid was shot and killed by police, while Naveed was sent to the hospital in critical condition. Australian police became aware of Naveed Akram dating back to 2019 when he was involved in the investigation of a radical preacher who was later convicted of planning a Sydney terrorist attack. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously declared the Bondi Beach shooting a terrorist attack, as investigators work to learn more about the suspects. Investigators have confirmed that homemade Islamic State flags were found in the cars of the suspects.Police told reporters on Tuesday that a counter terrorism investigation is ongoing.
